Casa De Francisco & Jacinta Marto

                                          Casa De Francisco & Jacinta Marto

The three shepherds lived in the tiny village of Aljustrel, a kilometer or two from the sanctuary in Fátima.

On May 13, 1917, they were tending sheep with their cousin, Lucia Santos, when they received the first of six visions of Mary. Francisco was 9 years old, and Jacinta was 7, at the time of the apparition.

People make the trip to see the humble home that the brother and sisters, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, shared with their parents and three other siblings.

It was here in 1919 and 1920 that Francisco and then Jacinta died during the flu epidemic after the First World War. Francisco Marto died at home on 4 April 1919, at the age of ten, and was buried in the parish cemetery and then re-buried in the Fátima basilica in 1952. Jacinta also died of influenza at the age of nine in Queen Stephanie's Children's Hospital in Lisbon on 20 February 1920, offering her suffering for the conversion of sinners, peace in the world, and the Holy Father.

Jacinta and Francisco are both buried at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima.

Regardless of your thoughts on religion, you could still come to understand the lifestyle in the region at the time, as it’s also a special feeling to know that you’re standing in the home of two saints, even if their short lives were difficult.