Saintly Sister Lucia dos Santos - Visionary of Fatima is Now Closer to Canonization after the Pope Approved a Decree

Pope Francis approved the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servants of God, Sister Lucia de Juesus Rosa dos Santos, one of the visionaries of Fatima. Carmelite Sister Lucia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos, witnessed a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Fatima, has been declared Venerable by the Church. The decree recognizing Sr Lucia’s heroic virtues was promulgated on June 22nd with the approval of Pope Francis.

Biography : Sister Lúcia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos, OCD, religious name Maria Lúcia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart, was a one of the famous Portuguese visionaries of Fatima. She was Born on the  28th of March 1907 and Died on the 13th of February 2005, in Coimbra. 

 

Sister Lucia's two cousins; Francisco de Jesus Marto (11 June 1908 – 4 April 1919) and Jacinta de Jesus Marto (11 March 1910 – 20 February 1920), also visionaries, were canonized as Saints in 2017.

On October 13, 2022, at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, in Rome, the Positio Super Vita, Virtutibus et Fama Sanctitatis for the process of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God Maria Lucia de Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart was handed over. The news was shared by the Rector of the Sanctuary of Fátima, who welcomed this further step in this process “so desired by Fátima and its pilgrims”.

On the occasion, the priest underlined the fact that Lucia, a Carmelite, considers herself the first pilgrim to Cova da Iria.
“All her life she was a hidden pilgrim, but simultaneously present every 12th and 13th in this Shrine. We know that she always prayed and commissioned the intentions of all the pilgrims who came here. Let us also pray for the cause of beafication and canonization of Sister Lucia, let us entrust our intentions and needs to her intercession, with the same confidence with which the pilgrims of 100 years ago presented their requests to her so that she could transmit them to Our Lady”, said the Father Carlos Cabecinhas, at the time of the announcement, at the end of the International Anniversary Mass on 13 October.
The delivery of Positio is an important moment in the process of Beatification and Canonization of the Servant of God, in its Roman phase. This volume contains: the Biography of Irª Lúcia based on documents collected during the diocesan phase of the process (which took place in the Diocese of Coimbra between 2008-2017); Informatio, which describes the virtues lived by Irª Lúcia, as well as the list of witnesses' testimonies, her Diary and other unpublished documents, considered relevant in the process.
The Positio will now be read by a group of 9 theologians who will issue their opinion at the Congress of Theological Consultants. This Congress will proceed to the elaboration of the final List, which summarizes Lucia's interior itinerary, the characteristics and traits of her sanctity and the elements necessary to be able to affirm that she practiced the virtues to a heroic degree. The final list will then be taken to the Ordinary Session of Bishops and Cardinals members of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, where a Bishop or Cardinal, appointed by the Prefect as Ponente, will prepare the written vote of the Session. This Vow will then be presented to the Holy Father in audience, who will decide on the promulgation of the Decree on the Heroic Virtues. From that moment on, Sister Lucia will no longer be considered a Servant of God and will be designated as Venerable.

For the stages of Beatification and Canonization it is also necessary to approve the respective miracle.

A long journey is foreseen until the much-desired Beatification and Canonization. 

Saint John Paul II wrote to D. Albino Cleto, Bishop of Coimbra, on the occasion of Lucia's death: "May the Lord reward her amply for the great and hidden service she rendered to the Church" (14.02.2005).The diocesan phase of the Beatification and Canonization Process of Sister Lúcia de Jesus (1907-2005), one of the three visionaries of Fatima, came to an end on February 13, 2017, when it passed under the direct competence of the Holy See and the Pope.
Each process of canonization is composed of a diocesan and a Roman phase.
The initial part of Sister Lucia's canonization cause began in 2008, three years after her death, after the now Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI granted a dispensation from the waiting period stipulated by Canon Law (five years).

Sister Lúcia de Jesus (1907-2005) lived 57 years of Carmelite life and has been buried in the Basilica of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, in the Sanctuary of Fátima, since 2006.
Edited from https://www.fatima.pt/pt/news/processo-de-beatificacao-da-ir-lucia-da-mais-um-passo-em-roma-e-postulacao-apresenta-documento-com-virtudes-heroicas