Fatima, Portugal, Mar 28, 2017 / 00:50 am
Fatima's bishop has said the centenary of the locale's Marian apparition would not be complete without the announcement of the canonization of Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto, two of the children who witnessed the apparition.
"I would consider the centenary to be incomplete without the canonization. I have had this hope. We are in time for it to be May 13, but everything depends on the exclusive competency of the Pope," Bishop Antonio dos Santos Marto of Leiria-Fatima said at a recent press conference.
The bishop also spoke about the news that Pope Francis approved March 23 the decree recognizing a second miracle attributed to the intercession of both siblings. This opens the way for their canonization.
Together with their cousin Lucia Santo, the brother and sister witnessed the 1917 apparitions of Mary.