First Section:
Display Cabinet no. 1
Lúcia | the little shepherdess
From my parents, I remember some admirable examples of what a christian family was, one that was united in faith, hope and love.
Background photo:
Lúcia’s family by her home in Aljustrel. From left to right: in the foreground, Maria Rosa (Lúcia’s mother) and Lúcia; in the background, Lúcia’s brothers: Manuel dos Santos, Maria dos Anjos, Glória (daughter of Maria dos Anjos), Carolina and Glória de Jesus.
Lúcia de Jesus was born on 28 March 1907 in Aljustrel, in the parish of Fátima, into a humble family.
She was the daughter of António dos Santos and Maria Rosa, and the youngest of seven children.
When she was only six years old, she became the shepherdess of the family’s flock of sheep. From 1916, her cousins Francisco, aged nine, and Jacinta Marto, aged seven, joined her in this task.
She lived in Aljustrel with her family until she was fourteen, the age at which he entered the Dorothean Sisters Boarding School in Vilar (Porto).
Objects on display:
- Certificate
Lúcia’s baptismal certificate, issued by the parish priest Luís Rodrigues Pereira. - Kerchief
A kerchief worn by Lúcia at the time of the Apparitions. - Crucifix
The oldest personal crucifix of Sister Lúcia. - Rosary
A rosary offered to Sister Lúcia by the Bishop of Leiria, José Alves Correia da Silva, in 1923, in exchange for the one she was using at the time.
Display Cabinet no. 2
1917, October | The promised Miracle
God chose that harsh place, one without any natural attractions or material comfort, to build His Universal Temple. A place which would be visited by people of faith from all over the world, to worship Him.
Background photo:
Pilgrims in Cova da Iria, on 13 October 1917, the day of the miracle of the sun.
Suddenly the rain stopped, the clouds opened like a curtain and let the sunlight through, which dried the mud and the clothes of the drenched crowd. The sun turned on itself three times, releasing its rays in shades of yellow, blue, green, and purple. This wonder was seen from far away. The crowd was terrified and began to shout. Many people confessed their sins out loud, doing acts of faith and asking for forgiveness.
Objects on display:
- Rope
Rope worn around the waist by Lúcia as an instrument of sacrifice. - Rosary
Sister Lúcia’s first rosary, offered by a pilgrim at the time of the apparitions, which she used for many years. - Reliquary
A leaf from the holm oak where Our Lady appeared in 1917, and which was kept for many years by Sister Lúcia and later placed in a reliquary. - Image
First image of Our Lady of Fátima, which was offered to Sister Lúcia.
Display Cabinet no. 3
Lúcia de Jesus | The Carmelite
I feel great happiness in the seclusion and silence of my Cloister.
Background photo:
Detail of the cloister of the Carmel of Coimbra.
Text:
Sister Lúcia entered the Carmel of Santa Teresa on 25 March 1948, and she professed her Solemn Vows on the 31 May of the following year.
She remained in the Carmel of Coimbra for 57 years (1948-2005).
Some time before she died, she confided to the sisters: “If I were to die now, I would die in happiness, because the message of Our Lady has already reached every part of the world”.
When Sister Lúcia was 97, on 13 February 2005, Our Lady delivered on the promise She had made, holding Sister Lúcia in her arms and taking her to finally contemplate the face of the Most Holy Trinity.
She was buried in the Cloister of the Carmel of Santa Teresa and a year later, on 19 February 2006, her body was transferred to the Sanctuary of Fátima.
Objects on display:
- Suitcase
Lúcia’s suitcase, given to her by her mother Maria Rosa when she left Fátima. She used this suitcase throughout her whole life. - Habit
Sister Lúcia’s habit and sandals. - Crucifix
Crucifix of her religious profession (31 May 1949), worn on the habit under the scapular. - Rosary
Rosary used by Sister Lúcia to pray in her last years as a Carmelite. - Liturgy of the Hours – prayer books of the Church.
Latin and Portuguese versions used for many years by Sister Lúcia.
Second Section:
Multimedia Room
Auditorium for conferences, seminars, presentations and screening of films.
Objects on display:
Vestment
Vestment made by Sister Lúcia in red silk with an embroidered cross-stitch border, for the balustrade of the communion hall in the church of the Carmel of Santa Teresa.
Third Section:
Photobiography
- With the little shepherds Jacinta and Francisco, 1917.
- With her cousin Jacinta, in Reixida, 1917.
- Aged 13, 1920.
- When she was a Dorothean Sister in 1946.
- A novice at the Carmel of Santa Teresa in 1948.
- With the image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, in the choir of the church of the Carmel of Santa Teresa, 1949.
- With the Holy Father Paul VI, 13 May 1967.
- With the Holy Father John Paul II, 13 May 1991.
- With the Carmelite community during the visit of Father General Luis Aróstegui in 2003.
- In her cell, with a copy of “Calls from the Message of Fátima”, 2002.
Panel
Panel with a photograph of Sister Lúcia and some thoughts taken from her writings, including:
- To be just is to be holy.
- It is in prayer that we meet with God.
- It was in the Heart of Mary that God began the work of redeeming mankind.
- Only love purifies.
- We cannot live without God, just like fish cannot live without water.
- God is the only being in which we can find the happiness for which he created us.
- We have an obligation to be holy, which means not to offend God by sinning.
- Prayer is therefore necessary for all, and we all must pray.
Display Cabinet no. 4
Last typewriter used by Sister Lúcia.
Display Cabinet no. 5 to 7
Background photo:
World map in three parts, belonging to Sister Lúcia.
Objects on display:
Letters and gifts sent to Sister Lúcia by devotees from all over the world, of which the following stand out:
- Crucifix offered by Mr. Corazon Aquino, former President of the Philippines, and an image of Our Lady of Fátima offered by a pilgrim, both made from the lava spewed by the volcano currently in eruption in the Philippines.
- An image of Our Lady of Candelaria, the patron saint of the Canary Islands.
- An image of Our Lady of Altötting, Germany.
- Pieces of the Berlin Wall.
- Letters exchanged with Holy Father John Paul II.
- Images of Our Lady of Aparecida, patron saint of Brazil.
- A rosary with a relic attached, sent from the USA along with a request for prayer.
- An image of Saint Joseph sent from Guatemala.
Display Cabinet no. 8
Sister Lúcia received letters from all over the world.
After reading and registering each letter, she would write down on the envelope whether it should be replied to.
Most of the messages included prayer requests for the sender or their family members.
The letters that were not written in Portuguese were translated either by the Carmelite Sisters or the Honourable Marquise of Cadaval, and later by her granddaughter, who noted down the contents on the envelope.
From the 1980s onwards, Sister Lúcia was asked by her superiors to preserve the letters.
The letters were kept in suitcases, and there are about 60 of them.
Apart from letters, she also received many messages that were left at the Carmel door, often by groups of pilgrims.
In 1985, Sister Lúcia received a total of 5881 letters from countries such as: Germany, Argentina, Australia, Austria, South Africa, Brazil, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Chile, Colombia, Korea, USA, Scotland, Spain, El Salvador, Philippines, France, Guatemala, Ghana, Hungary, Ireland, England, Italy, Iraq, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mauritius, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Malaysia, Mozambique, Nigeria, New Zealand, Netherlands, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Peru, Poland, Paraguay, Panama, Dominican Republic, Republic of Ecuador, Republic of Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Switzerland, Singapore, Sri Lanka, São Tomé and Príncipe, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, among others.
Over the years, and especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the number of letters kept on increasing, exceeding ten thousand per year. This increase came mainly from Eastern European countries.
Objects on display:
Two of more than sixty suitcases filled with letters received and kept this way by Sister Lúcia.