An hour with Sister Lucia

WHEN I SAW SISTER LUCIA a few metres in front of me, I felt very moved. She smiled serenely, she had a simple, humble, friendly manner, but in her face with its baby smooth skin, within her clear, deep eyes, there was a certain mysterious something which was fascinating. I am convinced that the contact she has had with the Virgin Mary both during the apparitions in Fatima in 1917, and during other apparitions she has since experienced privately, have given her a splendour which is out of this world.
Fr. Luigi Bianchi, an Italian priest from Lombardy speaks with enthusiasm: I have made pilgrimages to Fatima hundreds of times and I have seen Sister Lucia on various occasions, but always fleetingly, at a distance, exchanging greetings and nothing more. Last summer however, I had the opportunity to meet her twice privately. The first time in the middle of June and the second time on 3 July. The second meeting was an extraordinary experience! It lasted longer than an hour and I was able to talk with her confidently and take some photographs which are the most recent images of her. Four months have passed since then, but when I think about those moments, I feel the same strong emotion, as if it happened yesterday.
To get close to Sister Lucia, Fatima’s still living witness, is a rare privilege. This Carmelite nun is now 94 years old, lives in a cloistered monastery in Coimbra (Portugal), a city which is about 70 km from Fatima. No-one can enter her monastery because the Carmelite rule demands strict poverty, a vegetarian diet, and above all solitude; besides, there is a particular Vatican order concerning Sister Lucia, which prevents outsiders from making contact with her without special permission.
But I was lucky, says Fr. Luigi Bianchi. For many years now I have been friends with Father Josè dos Santos Valinho, a Salesian priest and one of Lucia’s nephews. Through him I have always maintained contact with Lucia, I sent her greetings, asked her for prayers. Every time I went to Fatima, I always celebrated Mass in the little chapel of her monastery and sometimes I even gave her Holy Communion. But the idea of being able to meet her privately was a dream I never thought I’d be able to fulfil.
Fr. Luigi lives in Gera Lario, a village on Lake Como in Italy. He is the parish priest of the church of St. Vincent, a fifteenth century architectural monument which is obviously of great artistic value and which he has turned into an important spiritual centre. An untiring apostle of devotion to the Virgin Mary, this 80 year old priest continues to organise pilgrimages to Fatima and to write books and articles to make known the ‘mystery’ and the ‘message’ behind these apparitions.

What does Sister Lucia look like?
She is a small woman, a little plump. She is 94 years old and yet she doesn’t look it. She struggles to stand up as she has arthritis, but her mind is still very alert. As I’ve already said, and as you can see from the photos, the skin on her face is fresh and clear, without a blemish. Sister Lucia is a witty speaker. She speaks in Portuguese with a clear and harmonious voice, but she also understands Italian and she spoke to me alternating from Portuguese to Italian.

What did you talk about?
Various topics. Sister Lucia knows me quite well through her nephew, Father Valinho. She also knows what I’m involved in and about the books I’ve written on Fatima. She asked me lots of questions about various spiritual initiatives in progress in my parish, the prayer group meetings, how many of us there are, what we do during these meetings, how we pray and how many people participate.

Did you also talk about the famous ‘secret’ of Fatima? A revelation which is no longer secret because the Vatican authorities have even released into the public domain the part which had never before been divulged, but which however, like all prophetic texts, remains ‘enigmatic’ in its interpretation.
I didn’t want to ask her direct questions about this subject; I didn’t want to appear indiscreet. But during the conversation this theme was obviously touched upon, at least its substance and its deep significance.

And what does Sister Lucia think about it?
I’m not authorised to report what Sister Lucia thinks. It was a private meeting. I can tell you my personal opinion on the subject since I have discussed this topic with many people including church authorities and naturally Sister Lucia.

Please tell us what you think then.
I think that we probably don’t know everything yet. Perhaps there are other parts of the ‘secret’ which haven’t yet been completely revealed. The Church has always been very cautious about these things, and is right to be so. However, examining what we know about the ‘secret’, we see that the Virgin Mary’s words and revelations, especially the latter ones, haven’t yet happened. Therefore, I think that some events of the ‘secret’ refer to the future. I think that the Holy Father, through his behaviour, reveals himself to be of the same opinion.

How do you come to this conclusion?
Through concrete facts which are before our eyes. John Paul II is one of the leading figures in the ‘secret’ and the events contained therein. He is identified as the bishop dressed in white who is killed by a group of soldiers who shoot at him with guns and arrows as mentioned in the ‘third’ part of the ‘secret’ which was made public in August 2000. Therefore, the pope knows that he is one of the ‘means’, perhaps the main one, through which the Virgin Mary’s plans are to be realised, and observing his behaviour, his diplomatic initiatives, you can see what path there is yet to follow.

Can you be more specific?
To understand you need to have a global vision of Our Lady’s revelation at Fatima. During the apparition on 13 July 1917, Mary confided the ‘secret’ to three illiterate children, Lucia and her two cousins, Francisco and Jacinta. The ‘secret’ consists of three parts.
The first part is a horrifying vision of hell and contains an urgent plea from Our Lady for acts of prayer and sacrifice to save souls. After the vision, the Virgin in fact said: You have seen the vision of hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wants to establish devotion to my Immaculate Heart in the world . If you do what I tell you, many souls will be saved and they will be in peace. The war will finish.
The second part of the ‘secret’ specifically prophesises the outbreak of the Second World War and contains the Mother of God’s solemn request for the consecration of Russia. During the same apparition on 13 July, Our Lady in fact said to the three seers: If people continue to offend the Lord, another even more terrible war will begin during the Papacy of Pius XI. When you see a night illuminated by an unknown light, be aware that it is a warning from God to inform you that the world will be punished for its crimes by war, hunger and the persecution of the Church and of the Holy Father. In order to prevent all of this, I ask Russia to be consecrated to my Immaculate Heart and a Communion of Reparation on the first Saturday of every month. If people attend to my requests, Russia will be converted and the world will have peace. Otherwise, Russia will spread its errors throughout the world, raising up wars and persecutions of the Church: the good will be martyred, the Holy Father will have much to suffer and various nations will be annihilated. In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me. Russia will be converted and a period of peace shall be given to mankind.
These are the words of the Virgin Mary, which over the years have come true to the letter. The First World War, which was going on during the apparitions, ended the year after. But then, under Pius XI there was an even worse war, preceded by the famous northern lights which everyone saw in 1938, just as predicted. The Virgin Mary also said: To prevent all of this (that is to say, the Second World War and its unavoidable consequences) I ask Russia to be consecrated to my Immaculate Heart and a Communion of Reparation on the first Saturday of every month... Mary suddenly calls into question Russia, links it to the Second World War and points out the possibility that the Soviet Union’s errors will be diffused around the world, if this nation is not consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. These errors are a clear reference to atheist Communism. In fact, it is universally recognised today that the theories of atheist Materialism spread by Russian Communism into the world have turned out to be harmful and disastrous from every viewpoint.
Mary asked Lucia for the consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart in 1929, when Lucia was already a nun and her two cousins were dead. It had to be a consecration made by the Holy Father in union with all the bishops of the Church. Lucia, through her superiors, recounted what the Madonna had asked her, but this consecration was never carried out.

Why not?
At that time, Lucia was simply a young unknown nun and the apparitions of Fatima hadn’t been officially approved of by the Church. Lucia was not considered credible by the Vatican and so the consecration wasn’t carried out. Years later, when the apparitions of Fatima were recognised, Lucia’s request was perhaps re-examined, but still not carried out. Theologians didn’t consider it to be justifiable. They thought that the term ‘consecration’ could only be used to describe the moment of the Eucharist Prayer at which the presider recites the words of the Lord over the bread and wine so that they become his body and blood. It was inadmissible for them to ‘consecrate’ something to the Virgin Mary.
There were interminable discussions which resulted in Mary’s request not being fulfilled. The consecration was not carried out. Therefore, the Virgin Mary, in a later appearance to Lucia, used reproachful words which make one think. It is a document which has never before been quoted because it is unsettling and terrible. The Virgin Mary said: They didn’t want to fulfil my request... they will regret this. When Russia is consecrated, it will be too late. Russia will have already spread its wrong ideas around the world, provoking wars and the persecution of the Church. The Holy Father will have much to suffer. Even these words were prophetic. Russia was eventually consecrated in 1984, when Materialism was indeed already diffused all over the world and had done immense damage. It was consecrated by John Paul II who, after the famous attack on him in St. Peter’s Square on 13 May 1981 (the anniversary of the date of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary in Fatima), understood that these revelations referred to this day and age.

In what way does the ‘secret’ of Fatima still refer to the future?
The Virgin Mary’s final words to the three seers on 13 July 1917 were: In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to me. Russia will be converted and a period of peace shall be given to mankind. Russia was consecrated by the Holy Father to the Immaculate Heart of Mary on 25 March 1985 and again in October 2000, in Rome, during the Jubilee of Bishops. In Russia, atheist Materialism is no longer the predominant ideology imposed by the Regime and there is no longer a direct conflict between faith and religion. We can now consider this nation to be on the road to conversion; that is the profound transformation of mind, will and heart toward God. But there are other great difficulties which prevent the triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary; difficulties which can be found within those who believe and against which the Pope is fighting with all his might.

Which difficulties in particular?
The real great religious scandal of the world today is no longer atheism, even if that continues to circulate, and neither is it indifference, or secularism, but the division of those who believe in the same God, the hatred which lies in the hearts of those who pray every day to our Lord. This is the last great obstacle to the ‘triumph’ of Mary.
John Paul II has a clear vision of this reality. Observing his behaviour and listening to his words, you can understand that he is strongly ‘concerned’ about the problem of the unity of believers. For this reason, even if criticised, (and at times severely so by some eminent Catholics), he went on pilgrimage to Orthodox and Protestant churches and also to synagogues and mosques and he knelt down asking forgiveness for wrongs committed by some intolerant Catholics over the centuries.
The pope wants the unity of the Church particularly in Russia. In the past Moscow was often called the ‘Third Rome’, to indicate that it was the most important centre of Christianity after Rome and Constantinople. The Patriarch of the biggest Orthodox Church resides in Moscow but for historical reasons, which are too lengthy to explain, this Church seems to be the most reluctant to enter into dialogue with the Catholic Church. Thus, even if atheist Communism is fading in Russia, it is difficult to imagine that: Russia will be converted and in the end my Immaculate Heart will triumph as the Virgin Mary said to the three seers. In fact, a mother’s heart cannot be at peace when her children are divided within the family. When they fight and they hate each other, they injure ‘the Mystical Body of Christ’: the Church. A mother, in this situation suffers, cries and doesn’t think of triumph. There is still a long way to go. John Paul II hopes to go to Moscow to start up the process of reconciliation because he knows that only in this way can the ‘conversion’ of Russia begin. For some time now, Lucia has been praying for the unity of believers and she invites us to pray towards this goal. Luckily she reveals herself to be very optimistic and full of hope for the future.