Barb Ernster 2023-02-14 13:02:37
A story has floated around for decades that Sister Lucia was replaced with an imposter by the Vatican, allegedly to silence the Fatima message and so the fake Lucia would endorse “apostasy” coming from Vatican Council II (VCII). This story is primarily based on pictures of her before and aft er the 1960s.
As fantastic as this tale is, thousands of people have adopted it as truth and have chosen to go down a rabbit hole that these theories offer. As long as it fits with their view of Church prelates, VCII, the all-consuming controversies regarding the Fatima secret and the consecration of Russia, then, to them, it’s true.
A Message for Us Personally
The angel in the third part of the secret cries out, “Penance! Penance! Penance!” There was such a build-up to the third part of the secret being released that it became a huge disappointment when it was about us. Penance, repentance, picking up your cross and following Jesus, doing His will, union with His Body on earth, the Church, and martyrdom — all for the sake of avoiding a flaming sword of justice.
Some people will hear and respond. For others, the message will be like the parable of the sower (cf Mt 13:1-9): seeds thrown on the path, on rocky ground or among thorns. They may hear it, but everything about the world and the evil one — and Fatima controversies — will make it bear no fruit.
We have tended to dismiss these things, as our mission is and always will be to spread the authentic message of Fatima and the salvation that comes from Jesus through Mary. Sister Lucia’s directive was to spread the devotion to the Immaculate Heart, and we only carry on that torch as an apostolate because of vast writings from the seer herself.
The Parade of Visitors
Lucia never sought fame, did not want to receive a constant flow of visitors and did not want special treatment or to be exploited, not even to have her photo taken. The Dorothean convent, where she spent the first 23 years of religious life, did not allow for this. She had always felt called to the cloistered life of Carmel, which was finally permitted in 1948.
Yet the parade of visitors continued, which was a distraction to her and the convent. She sought help from the Church in reducing the number of visitors. It was the archbishop of Coimbra who, also exasperated by requests to see her, went to the Vatican to seek help. The Vatican did not come to the convent and silence her. It responded to a request directly from her bishop.
Sister Angela Coelho, vice postulator for the Cause of Canonization of the three seers writes in Inside the Light: “Lucia’s face-to-face visitors were limited by the Holy See to some extent. There were several reasons for this. The popes’ first concern was to protect her and enable her to live out her life as a Carmelite. It is clear, though, that they also wanted to protect her from people who spoke about Fatima maliciously, spreading erroneous interpretations and even lies about the seer herself:
“Nonetheless, many did come to see her, including almost fifty cardinals and countless bishops from all over the world, in addition to kings, heads of states, ambassadors, film stars and directors, as well as the humble, simple workers who performed services in the convent.”
The difficulties Lucia had in dealing with a public that never let her be “was a burden for her,” states Sister Angela. But St. John Paul II, in May of 1991, helped her understand it: “When we have no option but to let them do it, we give them that pleasure. He helped her see that, in most cases, people flocked to them as a means of drawing closer to God, and so it was a duty they must, on occasion, learn to deal with it.”
"LUCIA’ S FACE-TO-FACE VISITORS WERE LIMITED BY THE HOLY SEE TO SOME EX T E N T . . . TO PROTECT HER FROM PEOPLE WHO SPOKE ABOUT FATIMA MALICIOUSLY, SPREADING ERRONEOUS INTERPRETATIONS AND EVEN LIES ABOUT THE SEER HERSELF. ”
Lucia Was Never Silenced
Most of Lucia’s time was spent in the quiet of the Carmel. Her cloistered life gave her access to God in silence, her path to holiness. And though she rarely went out to the world, she still found a way to fulfill her mission of to spread the Fatima message.
Sister Angela states that she did this primarily through the ministers of the Church, which Providence placed in her path, as well as through her own writings: “At the behest of her bishops, she penned several books, including: Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words I, Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words II, Calls from the Message of Fatima, How I See the Message in the Course of Time and In the Light of Events.”
The first volume of Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words sold several million copies worldwide and was translated into 19 languages. The 19th edition was published in 2014. Calls, published in 2000, is her final letter to all those who wrote to her, seeking advice on the message of Fatima:
“From 1970 onwards, more than 70,000 letters came to her in her Carmelite convent, arriving from all parts of the world,” Sister Angela states. “… What is particularly interesting is the identity of her correspondents. In some cases, it was the pope himself, including John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. Other times it was future saints, like Josemaria Escriva and Teresa of Calcutta.”
"THE DIARY,” SISTER ANGELA SAYS, “WHICH, POSSIBLY MORE THAN ALL THE OTHER WRITINGS WE HAVE OF HERS, SERVES AS A WITNESS TO HER INTIMATE LIFE WITH GOD, AS WELL AS TO THE MANY RECORDED MOMENTS OF HER LIFE.”
Mostly, however, the letters came from unknown, average people of all faiths, in need of hope and the assurance that God loves them.
If the Vatican was trying to silence her, they failed miserably.
In 1982, she was asked by Father Jeremias Carlos Vechina, provincial of the Discalced Carmelite Order, who admired her profound Carmelite spirituality, to write the message of Fatima in the course of time and in light of all the events that had occurred. Her confessor, Father Pedro Lourenco Ferriera, confirmed this request as it was necessary to write down in detail everything connected with the Message.
P. Jesus Castellano Cervera, OCD, consultor of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, who wrote the preface for Sister Lucia’s book Calls, called it a “Catechism of Fatima,” the “fruit of prolonged meditation” by Lucia, who is seen “to be in full harmony with the faith of the Church and with the faith of simple people.”
There was one more writing from Sister Lucia. After her death on Feb. 13, 2005, the Sisters of Coimbra, her family and community for 57 years, found her personal diary, O Meu Caminho (My Way), most of which was incorporated into their biography, A Pathway Under the Gaze of Mary (English edition published by World Apostolate of Fatima, USA). They didn’t hold anything back.
“The diary,” Sister Angela says, “which, possibly more than all the other writings we have of hers, serves as a witness to her intimate life with God, as well as to the many recorded moments of her life.”
All of these documents had to go through rigorous examination by the Cause and the diocesan review, none of which ever spoke of Vatican Council II.
Could an imposter have pulled all this off for 40-plus years? Did this imposter silence the message and endorse apostates? I would argue this anonymous person also failed miserably.
Like the “Little Way” of St. Therese, the “way of perfection” by St. Teresa of Avila and many other great saints, Lucia’s writings are a treasure for the Church and all those seeking holiness. Thankfully, millions of people have found it through the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, as Lucia taught. They are like the seed that fell on rich soil and bore fruit.
EDITORIAL NOTE:
All books mentioned in this article are available in our bookstore at ShopFatima.com
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