Sister Lucia Marto, 97, Claimed To See The Virgin Mary
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LISBON, Portugal – Sister Lucia Marto, the last of three children who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in a series of 1917 apparitions in the town of Fatima, has died, Portuguese press reported. She was 97. Lucia, a Roman Catholic nun, had been ill for the past three months and died yesterday at the Convent of Carmelitas in Coimbra, 120 miles north of Lisbon, TSF radio reported, citing family sources.
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 continued for another five months, ending abruptly in October.
Shortly after, Jacinta and Francisco died of respiratory diseases. But Lucia became a nun and penned two memoirs while living in convents.
The Catholic Church later built a shrine in Fatima, which is visited each year by millions of people. The Pope has visited three times.
