Saint Jacinta Marto - February 20
Jacinta was born on 11th March, 1910, the younger sister of Francisco and cousin to Lucia. Unlike her brother, she saw Our Lady during all six Apparitions, though she did not always hear what was being said to Lucia. A sensitive child, she cried bitterly at the age of five when she heard the Passion being read out, resolving not to make Our Lord suffer any more. She came under the spell of Lucia early on, regarding her more as an elder sister than a cousin. Her father, popularly known as Ti Marto, described Jacinta as the sweetest of his children. She called the moon ‘Our Lady’s Lamp.’
She had her faults, however, one of which was a tendency to sulk. During the first Apparition in May, 1917, Jacinta kept shyly in the background, but asked, charmingly, whether they should offer the Lady some of the bread and cheese they had brought for their lunch. Afterwards, Lucia insisted she should tell no one what they had seen. Jacinta vowed that she wouldn’t say …More