Why turn our attention to a little girl who lived only a few short years, when speaking of the great female saints and their deep bond with the Virgin Mary?
A saint from childhood
Every saint’s life is a unique and unrepeatable story. Some journeyed through winding paths before recognizing the footprints of the Master; others came to God through sudden, radical conversions. Then there are those who, from early childhood, lived and nurtured precious seeds of holiness and remained faithful to them until their faith reached full maturity.
Jacinta’s extraordinary response to grace
Yet the story of Saint Jacinta Marto, one of the three shepherd children of Fatima to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared in 1917, is even more extraordinary. In her few earthly years, this little girl fulfilled her baptismal vocation to the fullest. She was raised to the honors of the altar because she responded entirely and wholeheartedly to God’s will, as communicated to her by the Virgin Mary—who gently took her by the hand and lovingly formed her heart.
Obedience without dialogue
Jacinta saw, heard, and participated in the apparitions, though she never spoke directly with the Blessed Virgin, as her cousin Lucia dos Santos did. She died three years after the final apparition, on February 20, 1920—one year after her brother Francisco—at the age of just ten. And this is what is most astonishing: she manifested immediate, pure, and complete obedience to the words of Mary, who, after showing her a terrifying vision of Hell, asked her to pray and make sacrifices for the conversion of sinners and in reparation for sins committed against Her Immaculate Heart.
Marked forever by the vision of Hell
Jacinta never forgot that overwhelming vision of eternal torment prepared for souls who reject God. During the fourth apparition, on August 19, the Virgin revealed that many souls go to Hell because there is no one to offer sacrifices or pray for them. At that moment, Jacinta felt a profound sense of responsibility and an immense compassion for all the souls that would be lost if she didn’t respond. She knew that her sufferings, offered with love, could obtain the grace of salvation for many. She didn’t merely hope or suppose—it was a certainty, for the Blessed Mother had told her, and Our Lady cannot lie.
The depth of a child’s heart
Jacinta listened and faithfully echoed the desires and expectations of a Mother for her children. She didn’t interpret Mary’s words through the lens of personal reflection, for she had no theological formation or cultural tools to do so. Yet the theological depth of her insights, which did not stem from study, leaves one speechless, for it was the fruit of sanctifying grace fully embraced.
Charity made real
What remained to Jacinta was the creativity of charity—the ever-new ways of living out the gift of herself. The sorrowful sweetness of Mary’s face, who at Fatima never smiled, must have deeply impressed upon her the seriousness of the task and the urgency of fulfilling it. Perhaps she was not always fully aware of it, but undoubtedly every one of her actions and sufferings became a Paschal event of liberation for souls unknown to her, but deeply loved.
Clear instructions from Heaven
“At Fatima, the Virgin gives clear and concrete instructions to three children—and through them, to all of Christendom—on what must be done in these times to overcome a global crisis that she clearly foresees. The Mother comes not merely to warn, but to help. At Fatima, she educates the children—pure and innocent of heart—and then presents them to the world as an example to follow. She gives the assignment; the children carry it out. And by reading their ‘homework,’ we gain a clear vision of what we must also do.
They are, for all of us, the manifesto of Catholic spirituality in the twentieth century. They embody what Our Lady desires us to be and to do. There is no filter between the message of Fatima and the lives of the Marto siblings. They are the message they received—they simply fulfilled the desires of the Virgin Mary, and thus, the will of God. They believed immediately, without questions, and they obeyed. In doing so, they achieved sanctity within a matter of months.”
(Serafino Tognetti, “Jacinta,” Etabeta, 2020)
Children who offered everything
From the very beginning, and while still so young, Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia turned every moment of their lives into an offering to the Lord. Each gesture, every action, each word became a chance to show their love and their readiness to cooperate in the salvation of souls.
Sacrifices great and small
They gave everything. They found countless ways to bring relief to souls: daily, small and great renunciations. They gave up their snacks to feed poor children in their village. They denied themselves the pleasures of taste, eating bitter acorns and wild fruits when hungry. They often set aside playtime to pray the Rosary. They abandoned every form of personal gratification, even enduring the most painful deprivation—thirst, especially during Jacinta’s final illness, when she was parched with fever.
The lonely road to Calvary
Jacinta sacrificed even her family affections, living out her final agony in solitude in Lisbon. Yet despite the excruciating pain, she remained joyful to the end.
A final “yes” to the Virgin
Sister Lucia recounts that one day Jacinta, already gravely ill, told her that the Blessed Virgin had come to visit her. She said Mary told her she would soon come for Francisco to take him to Heaven, and then asked if she herself wished to help convert more sinners. “I said yes,” Jacinta replied. Then the Virgin told her that she would go to the hospital, where she would suffer greatly and remain alone, and afterwards she would join Francisco in Heaven.
Perfect love in a little heart
Mary asked for her consent—and Jacinta, with extraordinary determination, gave it. It was the same unwavering resolve as Jesus in His Passion, the same as His Mother at the foot of the Cross, the same strength of one who loves with a perfect love. “Now You can convert many sinners,” Jacinta said to Jesus, “because I suffer a lot.”
A luminous trail of holiness
“Jacinta, like her brother Francisco, lived for only a short while—a flash of light—but in those few months, she climbed the mountain of holiness, leaving behind a luminous trail that clearly reveals the demands of Catholic spirituality in the 20th century.”
(Benedict XVI)
Two candles lit by God
At the beatification ceremony on May 13, 2000, Saint John Paul II presented these two little shepherds as examples for us all, declaring: “The Church wants to set before you these two candles which God lit to illumine humanity in its dark and restless moments.” Turning to the children present, he added: “The Madonna needs all of you to console Jesus, saddened by the offenses He receives; she needs your prayers and your sacrifices for sinners.”
A mission for every soul
This appeal from the Holy Father is a life program not only for children but for every one of us. And Saint Jacinta, in her short but fully lived life, brought it to completion.