Blessed Jacinta was born in 11 March 1910, Aljustrel. Jacinta was a very busy and lively child. The apparitions aroused in her a deep pity for sinners, and compassion at the thought of what was waiting for them after death - the torments of hell. Therefore, she prayed for the conversion of sinners, as well as making acts of penance for their intentions. Jacinta was instructed by the Mother of God, and spoke to her of the great events in the world, which were to occur around 1940. On the day before her death she said:
Our Lady will appear again, but not to me. I will die, according to her prophecy.
She died on February 20 1920 in Lisbon. She offered her sufferings for the conversion of sinners, for peace in the world and the Holy Father. On May 13, 2000, she was beatified by Pope John Paul II.
Blessed Francisco was born 11 June 1908, at Aljustrel. Unlike his younger sister, Jacinta, he was quieter and reflective. He had deep faith. He liked to contemplate. He was a caring and capable of great sacrifices. In the home of Martha it was customary for the family to recite the Rosary. Children from an early age helped parents with tillage and grazing sheep. Blessed Francis wanted to receive Holy Communion as soon as possible and to attain eternal joy in heaven. His whole life of penance he offered to comfort the Lord Jesus. Shortly before his death at his fervent plea he received Holy Communion. He died on the 4th of April 1919 and was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 13 May 2000 in Fatima. The body of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta are buried in the basilica of Fatima. Their feast is celebrated on February 20.
Sister Lucia was born on 22 March 1907 in Aljustrel. She had an extraordinary devotion and concern for the fate of others. Four years after the apparitions - 17 June 1921 - Lucy Aljustrel left to become a student at the College of the Sisters of Saint Dorothy in Vilar, on the outskirts of Porto. On October 24, 1925, she joined the Institute of Saint Dorothy as a postulant for this congregation located in Tuy, Spain, near the border with Portugal. On October 3, 1928 she took her first vows. Six years later, on the same day of October, she made her final vows, taking the religious name Sister Mary of Sorrows.
During the communist revolution in Spain, she was transferred for security reasons to the college Sardao, in Vila Nova de Gaia, where she stayed for some time.
Later, on 20 May 1946, Sister Lucia could finally see again the place of the apparitions, on the way to the Cova da Iria, the caves in the earth and Cabeco Valinhos.
On 25 March 1948, Sister Lucia left the Institute to join the Carmel of St Joseph of Coimbra, taking the name Sister Maria Lucia of the Immaculate Heart. On 13 May the same year she adopted the habit and on 31 May 1949, she took her vows as a barefoot Carmelite nun, taking the name Maria Lucia of the Immaculate Heart.
She died on 13 February 2005 in the Carmel of Coimbra.
On February 13, 2008, the cause of her beatification began.
