The Catholic Defender: Saint Jacinta Marto: The Little Shepherd Girl Who Moved Heaven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgQp93hndmc

Born in Portugal in 1910, Jacinta was the youngest of the three visionaries at Fatima.

Jacinta Marto, specifically, is known as a young shepherd girl who, through her intense piety and dedication to prayer, moved heaven, later being canonized as a saint along with her brother Francisco.

Jacinta (7) Marto, along with their cousin Lucia dos Santos (10), witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary while tending sheep in Fátima.

Jacinta Marto, in particular, was deeply moved by the visions, developing a profound love for God and a desire to pray for sinners. She was known for her sacrifices and willingness to suffer for her faith.

Jacinta was of clear intelligence, joyful, and agile. She was always running, jumping and dancing. She lived passionately for the conversion of sinners. The vision of Hell had impressed her very much, and she did all she could to prevent sinners from going there.

Due to their holiness and visions, Jacinta and Francisco became the youngest non-martyr children to be canonized as saints in 2017.

They are remembered as "little shepherds" who brought a message of prayer and peace to the world.

Despite her young age, she was known for her intense "will to move heaven" through prayer and sacrifice. She dedicated her life to praying for the conversion of sinners and peace in the world.

"From that time on, though Jacinta felt it increasingly difficult to drink milk or broth or to eat, she never flinched but tried bravely to take anything her mother gave her. One day, her mother brought in to her with the milk a bunch of grapes. Jacinta loved grapes, and her mother knew it would please her. 'No, mother, I don't want the grapes. Take them away; just give me the milk.' Later she confided to Lucia, 'I did want the grapes so much and it was so hard for me to drink that milk. But I preferred to offer a sacrifice.' "

"Almost every day, on her way home from morning Mass and Communion, Lucia would drop in to visit Jacinta. It was such a great joy to Jacinta. -- 'Lucia,' she asked, 'did you receive Communion today?'

'Yes, Jacinta.'

'Then come very close to me for you have Our Lord in your heart. I don't know how it happens but I feel Our Lord in me and I understand what He says even if I don't see Him or hear Him. It is so good to be with Him.' "

Jacinta would later say that Mother Mary revealed to her that more souls go to hell because of the sins of the flesh than any other reason.

St. Jacinta Marto of Fatima (1910–1920) is remembered for profound spiritual insights regarding reparation, the Eucharist, and the fate of souls, often focusing on saving sinners. Key quotes include: "The sins that lead more souls to hell are the sins of the flesh", "If men knew what eternity is, they would do everything to change their lives", and her desire to suffer to convert sinners.

"Oh, my God, don't these people really know that they can go to hell for saying those things? Forgive them, my Jesus, and convert them".

"Wars are nothing but punishments for the sins of the world".

"Fashions that will greatly offend Our Lord will appear. People who follow God should not follow fashions".

"The Mother of God wants more virgin souls who bind themselves to her by the vow of chastity".

"I want to suffer, to save souls from Hell".

"Give all my love to Our Lord and Our Lady, and tell them that I'll suffer as much as they want, for the conversion of sinners".

"Pray much for sinners! Pray much for priests!".

"Tell everone that God gives graces through the Immaculate Heart of Mary"

"In a short time now I am going to heaven". She died at age 9 from the Spanish flu. She is often remembered for offering her excruciating physical pain as a spiritual sacrifice, stating she wanted to "console the Lord".

"I have a fire in my chest but it doesn't burn me". Jacinta died of influenza in Lisbon in 1920, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners, peace in the world, and the Holy Father. She was re-buried in the Fátima basilica in 1951.

Jacinta looked upon the Virgin Mary as "Our Lady's lamp" "Our Lady's lamp" usually refers to a votive candle or light burning in a Catholic church near a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, symbolizing prayer, devotion, and her intercession.

A young soldier about to be sent to the front lines of WWI asked Jacinta to pray for his ill wife. Jacinta prayed the Rosary with him and assured him of Our Lady’s help; his wife was subsequently cured, and his orders to the front were withdrawn.

Accounts suggest Jacinta may have bi-located to help a wayward youth who was lost in a stormy wood. While she was at home praying for him, he reported that she appeared and took him by the hand to lead him to safety.

Francisco, Jacinta and their cousin Lucia are buried here side by side in the basilica. Before Mass, Francis prayed in silence at the tombs of the three shepherd children. When Jacinta's body was exhumed before being brought here, 15 years after her death, it was found to be totally uncorrupted.

She was canonized by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017, the centennial of the first apparition. Her feast day is February 20.

The cause for the siblings' canonization began in 1946. Exhumed in 1935, Jacinta's face was found to be incorrupt; Francisco's had decomposed.

Francisco died on April 4, 1919 at the age of 11; Jacinta was just shy of age 10 when she passed.

On February 20, 1989, the anniversary of Jacinta's death, a paraplegic woman named

María Emilia Santos began to recover. She was soon able to sit, stand, and eventually walk without pain. This miracle was approved by St. John Paul II for their beatification in 2000.

In 2013, a 5-year-old Brazilian boy named Lucas fell 20 feet from a window, suffering severe brain trauma and falling into a coma. Doctors gave him little chance of survival and predicted severe cognitive impairment. After a sister at a local convent prayed to the "Little Shepherds" and placed their relics near him,

Lucas woke up two days later perfectly well with no neurological after-effects. Pope Francis approved this miracle in 2017.

Jacinta was beatified by Pope John Paul II on May 13, 2000, and canonized by Pope Francis on May 13, 2017. After a miracle involving the instantaneous cure of a Brazilian boy's incurable diabetes.

The miracle approved for her canonization involved a 5-year-old Portuguese boy, Felipe Moura Marques, who was cured of incurable type 1 diabetes after his family prayed to Jacinta and Francisco in 2000.

It is recorded that Jacinta displayed immense faith and told a sick woman that Our Lady would cure her, which reportedly occurred.

Following the visions, Jacinta became known for intense prayer, sacrifices, and a deep, mystical devotion to the Virgin Mary, offering up her suffering for the conversion of sinners.

Jacinta was one of the three visionaries who predicted this event. Approximately 100,000 people witnessed the sun "dance," change colors, and zigzag toward the earth, leaving the rain-soaked ground and the people's clothes miraculously dry.