posted on Feb, 14 2005 @ 04:38 AM
Sister Lucia Marto died Sunday at the Convent of Carmelitas in Coimbra, 120 miles north of Lisbon. Marto was the last of the three children who
claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in a series of 1917 apparitions in the town of Fatima. Marto had been ill for the last 3 months.
www.cbsnews.com
Lucia and two of her cousins, siblings Jacinta and Francisco, said in 1917 that the Virgin Mary had been appearing to them once a month and
predicting events, such as world wars, the reemergence of Christianity in Russia, and one that Church officials say foretold the 1981 attempted
assassination of Pope John Paul II. The appearances took place on the 13th day of each month in Fatima, a town about 70 miles north of Lisbon.
The first sighting was May 13, and the appearances took place for another five months, ending abruptly in October of that year.
The pope has visited three times since becoming pontiff in 1978, spending a few minutes with Lucia during a 1991 trip to the site. He has claimed the
Virgin of Fatima saved his life after he was shot by a Turkish gunman in St. Peter's Square in 1981. The attack, on May 13, coincided with the feast
day of Our Lady of Fatima, and John Paul credits the Virgin's intercession for his survival.
Please visit the link provided for the complete story.
Whether true or not that she saw apparitions of the Virgin Mary, this is indeed a sad event for the Catholic Church. She was indeed a very dear
woman. Over 100,000 people from dozens of countries annually visit the shrine that was errected in Fatima to commemorate the sightings.