The miracle of Fatima

MAY 13, THE DAY ON WHICH Francisco and Jacinta, the two young shepherds of Fatima will be beatified, is fast approaching. For that period, all the hotels in the Portuguese shrine to Mary and those of the surrounding towns have been completely booked up for months. Over a million people are expected to gather at the shrine on the day itself. Among them, in the front row, there will of course be Sister Lucia, the only witness to Our Lady of Fatima who is still alive and whose life story was examined in depth last month.
Fr. José Valinho, the nephew of Sister Lucia, whom we have quoted frequently in this series, told us that his aunt, who celebrated her 93^rd birthday on March 22, is well eagerly awaiting May 13. On that day her joy will be comparable to that which she felt on May 13, 1917, when she shared with Francisco and Jacinta the first vision of Our Lady.

If you seek miracles...

Like Lourdes, Fatima too has become synonymous with miracles. Among the many pilgrims who arrive at the shrine every day, a large number are people  suffering from illnesses who have come to ask Our  Lady to grant them a cure.
This is perfectly natural. In desperate cases, humans have always turned to the supernatural for help. Such behaviour was even encouraged by Jesus. During the years of His ministry, He was followed through the streets by lepers, the blind and the lame, who would beg him for a cure, and He would answer their prayers.
But a miracle is not a type of medicine, it is a ‘sign’ sent by God to remind people about things that are often beyond human senses and reasoning. Science and medicine are a great help for those who are suffering, but they are often powerless when faced with extreme cases. In His wisdom, God often performs works which leave scientists amazed, and fill the hearts of believers with joy.
In Fatima, miracles began to occur from the very first days after the apparitions. At the time of the second apparition, for example, Lucia commended a sick woman to Our Lady, who replied: If she has converted she will be cured within the end of the year. Our Lady promised to intervene on condition that the woman turned back to the ways of God, because illnesses of the spirit are much more serious than those of the body.

scientific explanation regarding his cure.
Countless miracles took place at Fatima. People are generally most surprised by the spontaneous healing of physical illnesses or disorders, says Fr. Valinho. But spiritual healings, that is to say, conversions, are far greater miracles. In Fatima, there are many of these, too. People with physical problems come here to search for a cure. They may return home in the same physical condition as before, but often they are completely changed spiritually. They have understood the ‘great mission’ to which their suffering calls them; they have become apostles who unite their own trials to the sufferings of Christ for the salvation of mankind.
Fr. Valinho tells us that many miracles have been obtained through the intercession of Francisco and Jacinta. At the house of their birth, letters arrive almost daily from people who claim to have received favours or been blessed with miracles through the intercession of the two young prophets.

How to obtain sainthood

In order to be concluded, the cause for beatification requires that a miracle attributed to a ‘candidate for sainthood’ be scientifically ‘demonstrated’, the last official procedure in the whole long process of beatification. The practice of scientific investigation is sanctioned by the norms of the beatification process, and cannot be overlooked. This is an extremely important rule.

There are two protracted phases in the process of beatification. The first is an investigation carried out by the Church, when all relevant information on the life of the ‘candidate for sainthood’ is gathered. A person’s sainthood can be inferred from his or her behaviour. Saints are those people who, in their lives, have demonstrated ‘heroic virtue’ in their observance of the Gospel. The beatification process must leave no doubt that the candidate did indeed demonstrate ‘heroic virtue’.
At the end of this long investigation, the Pope must make a solemn  proclamation that the candidate really did live as a saint, and therefore deserves to be held up to the faithful as an example to follow. But clearly the Church has no wish to make mistakes in such a delicate matter. It therefore asks for help from Heaven. The Church asks God to intervene with a sign to confirm the conclusions that have been reached, that is to say, it asks for a miracle through the intercession of the ‘candidate’ for sainthood. If God grants this miracle, it means He approves of the conclusions which the Church has drawn. This is the reason that a miracle is considered necessary.
The verification of a miracle is a meticulous and serious process, divided into two parts. At the first stage a commission of doctors, who are not necessarily believers, have to establish that the healing under examination cannot be explained in scientific terms. At this stage a commission of theologians and cardinals studies the case to see if it is truly a case of divine intervention, and to establish whether this intervention has been brought about through the intercession of the candidate for sainthood. Only if these two conditions are satisfied is the miracle proclaimed to be authentic, thus opening the way to the candidate’s beatification.

An authentic miracle

In the case of Francisco and Jacinta, this process had to be followed, since it is a binding procedure in the process of beatification. The healing in question was of a woman named Maria Emilia Santos, who lives in Leiria, the most important town in the Fatima region. Fr. Valinho suggests we go to meet her, in order to hear her version of her healing. We get into the car and head for Leiria, about thirty kilometres from Fatima. The road crosses a hilly countryside which is thickly forested.
Maria Emilia Santos lives in the institute of Saint Francis, where people suffering from chronic illnesses are cared for. When she was ill, she spent many years in the institution, says Fr. Valinho. After she was cured, she decided to stay there to help others. We park behind the institute, under some large trees which line the banks of a small lake. The woman who had received the miracle cure through the intercession of Francisco and Jacinta is waiting for us in a small room reserved for guests. We smile at her. She is a rather elderly woman, tiny and fragile as a fledgling.
These friends of mine are gathering information for a series of articles on Our Lady of Fatima for the Messenger of Saint Anthony, says Fr. Valinho. The magazine goes all over the world. The readers want to know about your illness and your miraculous cure. Emilia’s face fills with happiness and her eyes shine. It is clear that her memory of the event fills her with joy. It completely changed my life, she says as if to justify her ill-concealed emotion. After a few moments she begins to tell her story.

Emilia’s cure

My cure took place on 20 February, 1989, the anniversary of Jacinta’s death. I had been bed-ridden for 22 years. My spinal column was calcified, and I could no longer make any movements at all. My feet were completely bent out of shape, and incapable of feeling.
Every means possible had been used to treat my condition, and I had even spent eight years in hospital. But in the end I had been discharged, and declared incurable. This is why I was brought to this institute, where the chronically ill are cared for.

One day Fr. Artunes, who works at the Shrine of Fatima, came to visit me. He told me that he was holding a class for spiritual exercises, and asked if I would like to come. I’d love to, I replied, but how can I? I’m incapable of any movement whatsoever. Don’t worry, he replied. We’ll take you on a stretcher, and there will be someone to help you, just like here.
And so I went to do these spiritual exercises in Fatima.  The priest who was with us continued to speak about Francisco and Jacinta and the  apparitions of Our Lady. Little by little I began to be convinced that the two children could help me, that they could obtain for me the grace of a cure.
However, a healing seemed something far too extraordinary for me. I didn’t think I deserved so much, and so I prayed to Francisco and Jacinta for the ability to at least sit up in bed, so that there would be less work and problems for the people who took care of me.

A first prayer answered

I was taken home on a stretcher, and I continued to pray. And after a while my prayers were answered. One morning I realised that I could move in my bed. I had really been granted what I had asked. It was marvellous, amazing. After years and years of having to stay flat on my back, motionless in my bed, I could bend my back enough to stay in a sitting position. It was so extraordinary it seemed like a dream. I couldn’t make any other movements, and my feet were still twisted and numb. But it was still an enormous improvement which I had never dared hope for. I was so happy.
After my initial surprise and joy, however, I realised that I hadn’t really obtained what I most wanted, that is, not to be a burden to those who took care of me. Even though I could sit up, the problems I caused my helpers were no less. They still had to wash me, change me, turn me around, pick me up and move me, because I was unable to move around on my own.
Things stayed that way for another 23 months. Then I began to pray again. I said to Francisco and Jacinta: You granted the favour I asked for, but things didn’t turn out as I had hoped. I wanted not to be a burden on those who look after me and yet, although I can sit up, I still depend on others for everything. I am now asking you to cure me completely, so that I can take care of myself without anyone else’s help.
In my heart, I could feel that Francisco and Jacinta would be able to grant me this favour. I had understood that, if I prayed fervently with faith in my heart, it would really be possible. I began a Novena. When I had finished the first, I made a second.