Portuguese bishops praise witness of Sister Lucia

Lisbon, Portugal, Feb 14, 2005 / 22:00 pm

In declarations to the Portuguese news agency Lusa, several Portuguese bishops praised the life of Sister Lucia, who they recalled as an “example of faith,” and they praised her testimony of humility and discretion.

Bishop Antonio Marcelina of Aveiro and Vice President of the Bishops Conference of Portugal said Sister Lucia “represents a certainty of immense faithfulness to God.  She is another person who will be watching over us from Heaven.”  He also stated, “The message of Fatima echoes the message of the Gospel.”

Auxiliary Bishop Carlos Azevedo of Lisbon and President of the Scientific Committee of the Critical Documentation of Fatima remembered her in “her role of a simple woman who received the mystery of God.”  “During her long life she knew how to live with great humility her being blessed with a great gift and she deserves all of our veneration because of this,” he added.

Bishop Januario Torgal Ferreira of the Military Diocese said Sister Lucia’s discretion made it possible that the Shrine and the message of Fatima remained completely autonomous from her life.  “Sister Lucia always lived hidden in silence” and “she was never seen as a protagonist of world events,” he emphasized.  “I think she was a person who was at the origin of a great milestone in the spirituality of the 20^th century and the beginning of the 21^st, and in my opinion her hiddenness and desire not to be a protagonist were what prevailed in her,” said Bishop Ferreira.