German cardinal offers reflections on anniversary of Sister Lucia’s death

Cologne, Germany, Feb 14, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Speaking on Vatican Radio about the upcoming first anniversary of the death of Sister Lucia, Cardinal Joachim Meisner, Archbishop of Cologne, said the last surviving witness of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima was a nun “filled with common sense and trust in God.”
 
Sister Lucia died one year ago at the Carmelite Monastery of Coimbra.  Francisco and Jacinta Marto, the other two children who witnessed the apparitions, were beatified by Pope John Paul II in 2000.
 
Cardinal Meisner, who was a personal acquaintance of Sister Lucia, shared his memories of the late nun with Vatican Radio.  He remembered her as “a very sober religious; she was the treasurer of the monastery.  She was a sister full of good humor, common sense and great trust in God,” he said.
 
Recalling his last visit with her three years ago in Fatima, the cardinal said he brought her a white cassock as a gift from Pope John Paul II.  “As I gave it to her,” he said, “she took it into her hands and said, ‘It would have been even better if the Pope came with it’.”
 
Sister Lucia died in 2005 at the age of 97.  The Church celebrates the feast of Francisco and Jacinta Marto on February 20.   This Sunday the body of Sister Lucia will be transferred to the Basilica at Fatima.  The ceremony will be broadcast live on EWTN (www.ewtn.com).