Pope Francis declared the two children saints 100 years after their first vision of the Virgin Mary.
Pope Francis arrives at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima to celebrate a solemn Mass where he will canonize Jacinta and Francisco Marto, Saturday, May 13, 2017, in Fatima, Portugal.
Although it is one of the most visited Catholic religious tourism destinations in the world, the Vatican has never given its official seal of approval to the apparitions, and a papal envoy was recently dispatched to investigate further.
May 13, 2017 6:50 a.m.: Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, Pray for Us.
An estimated half-million people - the full capacity of the esplanade connecting the new shrine of Fatima with the old one - took place in the celebration.
And the parents of a Brazilian boy say he healed at lightning speed after falling more than six meters from a window in 2013, after they prayed to the late Jacinta and Francisco for help.
On May 13, 1917, three children: Jacinta and Francisco Marto and their cousin Lucia dos Santos, claimed that the Virgin Mary had appeared before them while they were tending sheep.
Lucia said the Virgin Mary also called for the "consecration" of Russian Federation, adding, "If my requests are heeded, Russian Federation will be converted and there will be peace; if not, she will spread her errors throughout the world, causing wars and persecutions of the Church".
At the time, Europe was in the throes of the First World War, and the Portuguese church was suffering under anti-clerical laws from the republican government that had forced many bishops and priests into exile.
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The New York Times speculated in March that the Martos might soon be canonized, since the Pope had officially recognized a miracle attributed to them.
Jose Ornelas, a 59-year-old librarian from Caracas, which along with other cities has seen deadly anti-regime protests, said: "We are going to pray to Fatima and Pope Francis so that they can intervene for a peaceful solution for Venezuela".
After contracting influenza, Francisco died April 4, 1919, at the age of 10, while Jacinta succumbed to her illness February 20, 1920, at the age of 9. "Such a life - frequently proposed and imposed - risks leading to Hell".
Hundreds of devotees touch the image of Our Lady of Fatima carried by Fr. Erik Orio after the Centennial Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, which was followed by a penitential procession. "But the most anticipated moment of the 100th anniversary of the Fatima Apparitions will be when two of the three children are canonised".
Francisco and Jacinta, aged seven and nine respectively, died two years after the 1917 apparitions in the Spanish flu pandemic. She is being considered for possible beatification, but the process could only start five years after her death and has yet to be concluded.
Lucas and the pope embraced during the Mass.
In the third apparition, the children saw a vision of hell and were told predictions known as the Three Secrets of Fatima.
Fatima has always been associated with St. John Paul II, given that the Polish-born pope credited the Virgin Mary with saving his life in 1981 when a would-be assassin shot him on Fatima's feast day - May 13 - in St. Peter's Square.
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