Francisco Marto was the sixth of seven children, born in a small village in Portugal in 1908. He enjoyed playing games with other children, but he also liked to be alone to think. One day, he was with his sister Jacinta and cousin Lucia tending sheep when the three of them were greeted by an angel that taught them how to pray. A few months later, when Francisco was eight, the Fatima apparitions began appearing to the three children. After the apparitions ended, going to heaven was Francisco’s only thought. He would frequently skip school to go pray at the tabernacle in his church, calling the Eucharist “Hidden Jesus”. When he was 10 he contracted the Spanish flu. Gravely ill, he asked to be given “the Hidden Jesus”. He received his first Eucharist, and the very next day he died with a Heavenly glow on his face.
CHALLENGE
After the Fatima apparitions, the only thoughts of St. Francisco Marto were of Heaven and of consoling the suffering Jesus. For the conversion of sinners, he prayed the Rosary fervently and fasted from food and water during hot weather. Today, pray the Rosary for the conversion of someone you know.
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