Can a child have heroic virtue? By the grace of God, yes! So writes Michael Sauter, Headmaster of Saint Thomas the Apostle Catholic School in Ann Arbor, upon the Feast of Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, two of the three visionaries of Fatima, Portugal, to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in 1917. Mr. Sauter continues:

Francisco and Jacinta, the youngest non-martyrs to be canonized, pursued the hidden way found by all other saints, young and old: the way of the Cross.

When Mary first appeared to them on May 13, 1917, Francisco was not yet 9 years old, and his sister, Jacinta, had just turned 7. Yet they were the ones, along with their cousin Lucia, to whom Our Lady chose to deliver her message of penance and conversion, her prophecies of war and Communism, her call to say the rosary, and even a vision of hell. Hardly “kid” stuff!

Francisco and Jacinta willingly embraced Our Lady’s call to penance and patiently bore ridicule, slander, and opposition from those who didn’t believe them during the months leading up to the famous “dancing sun” apparition of October 13, 1917. At one point, they were even threatened and imprisoned by the governor.

After Our Lady’s apparitions ended, they continued lives completely devoted to Our Lady’s call. However, both knew they didn’t have long to live. Francisco died in 1919, and his sister a year later.

They are witnesses to Our Lord’s great desire that young people pursue Him with their whole hearts. God never commands the impossible; if He is calling, He will give the grace! What He wants of children, as Francisco and Jacinta gave Him, are their entire selves, so they can become like Him and follow Him in all things. ⁣

Saints Jacinta and Francisco Marto, pray for us!