St. Jacinta Marto

Jacinta Marto

The youngest seer of Fatima – symbol of love and sacrifice

Jacinta Marto was the youngest of the three children who witnessed the Marian apparitions of Fatima in 1917. She was born on March 11, 1910, in Aljustrel, near Fatima, Portugal, to Manuel Marto and Olimpia de Jesus. She grew up in a devout Christian family and loved dancing and making music.

Together with her brother Francisco and cousin Lucia dos Santos, she experienced several angelic apparitions and visions of the Virgin Mary. Jacinta could see and hear Mary, while Lucia even spoke to her. These events awakened in Jacinta a burning love for God.

In 1918, Jacinta became ill with pneumonia caused by the Spanish flu. She faced her suffering with penitence and willingness to sacrifice. To her dying brother she said: “Send my greetings to the Lord and the Virgin ... I will endure anything for the conversion of sinners.”

In January 1920, she was taken to a hospital in Lisbon for pleuritis. After a painful surgery, she passed away on February 20, 1920, at just 9 years old. Even in the hospital, Mary appeared to her multiple times.

Since 1951, she rests beside her brother Francisco in the new Basilica of Fatima. Pope John Paul II beatified her in 2000, and Pope Francis canonized her on May 13, 2017, on the 100th anniversary of the first apparition.

Iconography

Jacinta is depicted as a young peasant girl, symbol of purity and humility.

Feast Day

February 20

Patron Saint of

the sick, prisoners, and those persecuted for their faith