SANTOS, LUCIA DOS

born 1907, Aljustrel, Port. Portugese shepherd girl, later a Carmelite nun, who claimed she saw visions of the Virgin Mary in 1917 at Ftima, Port., which subsequently became one of the most famous Marian shrines. The first of six visions came to her on May 13, 1917, while she was tending sheep with her two cousins, Francisco and Jacinta. In accordance with the Virgin's promise, the vision was repeated on the 13th of each month until October, except for August, when the children were at Valinhos pasture, near Aljustrel, where they saw the lady on August 19. At that time, the children had been abducted by incredulous civil authorities, who interrogated and threatened them. In the August vision the lady promised a great miracle for October. Reports of the visions excited interest, and by October 13 the observers at Ftima reached an estimated 70,000. The Virgin Mary reportedly revealed herself to the children as the Lady of the Rosary and asked for a chapel to be built there for her. Immediately afterward, there occurred a solar phenomenon that was reported by many who saw it; the Sun reputedly fell toward the Earth. Lucia then announced the identity of the lady and her wish. Lucia and her cousins, the latter of whom died soon after the visions, were interviewed frequently by church officials, and a formal inquiry commenced in 1922. After years of investigation the cult of Our Lady of Ftima was authorized by the bishop of Leiria, Port., on Oct. 13, 1930. In 1936, 1937, 1941, and 1942 Lucia prepared documents giving additional details of the experience. In 1948 she entered the Carmelites at Coimbra, Port., and on the 50th anniversary (May 13, 1967) of the first vision, she accompanied Pope Paul VI to the shrine with about 1,000,000 pilgrims. The Meaning of Ftima by C.C. Martindale, S.J., was published in 1950.