Pope Francis has taken a significant step towards the possible canonization of Sister Lucia dos Santos, the eldest child who witnessed the apparitions at Fatima. In a decree signed on June 22, the pope recognized Lucia's heroic virtue and conferred upon her the title of "venerable." However, for her to be beatified, the Church still requires confirmation of a miracle attributed to her intercession.
The pontiff had previously canonized the other two Fatima visionaries, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, in 2017. These young shepherd children, who passed away at the ages of 10 and 11, hold the distinction of being the youngest non-martyr saints in the history of the Catholic Church.
Lucia, who was 10 years old when the Marian apparitions took place in 1917, lived on for several more decades, passing away at the age of 97.
Following her time as a witness to the Fatima apparitions, Sister Lucia dos Santos spent the final five decades of her life residing in a Carmelite convent in Coimbra, Portugal. As the only visionary who directly communicated with the Virgin Mary during the apparitions, her written memoirs hold great significance in conveying the Fatima message.
The process for Lucia's canonization began in 2008, just three years after her death, with Pope Benedict XVI granting a dispensation from the customary five-year waiting period. The diocesan phase of her cause concluded in 2017, accumulating over 15,000 letters, testimonies, and supporting documents.
Pope Francis has plans to visit Fatima in Portugal during his visit for World Youth Day this summer. He will spend the morning of August 5 at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, where he will join sick young adults in the Chapel of Apparitions for rosary prayers.
In addition to Sister Lucia's advancement, Pope Francis also approved the recognition of martyrdom for Manuel González-Serna Rodríguez and 19 companions, who were killed due to their faith during the Spanish Civil War in 1936. The pope further acknowledged the heroic virtue of four other Servants of God: Mother Mary Lange, who founded the first African American religious congregation after immigrating to the United States from Cuba; Brazilian Archbishop Antônio de Almeida Lustosa; Italian Franciscan Father Antonio Pagani; and Italian Sister Anna Cantalupo.