Pope Francis has advanced the cause for the canonisation of the last of the children who saw the Blessed Virgin Mary at Fatima, Portugal, putting her a step closer to sainthood.
The Pontiff declared as “Venerable” Carmelite Sister Lucia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos (pictured left), the eldest of the three children who witnessed the apparitions in 1917.
Her new status signifies that she lived one or more of the virtues heroically and the search will now begin for two healing miracles as supernatural signs from God that she is a saint.
