ACI Prensa Staff, Dec 8, 2025 / 08:00 am “I was her doctor for her body, but she was my spiritual doctor,” said Dr. Branca Pereira Acevedo while describing her relationship with Sister Lucia dos Santos, one [...]
7 days ago
Dr. Branca Pereira Acevedo, who served as Sister Lucia dos Santos' physician for the last 15 years of her life until her death in 2005 at age 97, recently shared a moving account of her spiritual transformation.2 3
She described herself as Sister Lucia's doctor for the body, while the Fatima visionary became her spiritual guide.2
This testimony was given on November 29, 2025, during the presentation of the short film "The Heart of Sister Lucia" at the archbishop’s palace in Alcalá de Henares, Spain.2 3
Sister Lucia, the longest-surviving of the three Fatima shepherd children, moved to Tui, Spain, in 1925, where she experienced further apparitions of the Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus.2 3
She lived there for over a decade before returning to Portugal and joining the Carmelites in 1949.2
December 10, 2025, marks the centenary of these Pontevedra visions, prompting a Holy See-granted jubilee year at the "House of the Immaculate Heart of Mary," tied to her lifelong promotion of devotion to Mary's Immaculate Heart.2 3
Dr. Pereira portrayed Sister Lucia as profoundly humble and obedient, viewing herself merely as "an instrument of God," indistinguishable from ordinary people.2 3
Despite receiving insulting letters from around the world, she responded with prayer for the senders, calling them "children of God" in need of conversion.2
Her constant good humor, serenity, and faithfulness persisted even in difficulties, remaining lucid until her final moments.2 3
Prior to caring for Sister Lucia, Dr. Pereira's faith had waned; she avoided Mass and sacraments, citing her demanding career and family.2 3
Through intimate moments with the visionary—closer than those with her fellow Carmelites—Pereira learned that "through God and the Church, we can do everything well," reigniting her spiritual life.2
This period was marked by intense experiences that profoundly changed her, as she accompanied Sister Lucia at the Coimbra convent.2 3
Dr. Pereira witnessed Sister Lucia's composure during the 2000 Vatican publication of the third Fatima secret by Cardinal Angelo Sodano.2 3
Facing claims that parts remained hidden, Sister Lucia emphasized obedience to God and the Bible's primacy, dismissing other matters as secondary.2
She prepared joyfully for the 2000 beatification of her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto by Pope John Paul II, appearing more transcendent thereafter; they were canonized in 2017, and Sister Lucia was declared Venerable in 2023.3
Sister Lucia's final years focused on prayer, penance, and spreading Our Lady's requests for reparation, Immaculate Heart veneration, and the First Five Saturdays devotion.2 3
She shared a deep friendship with St. John Paul II, praying intensely for the Holy Father.2
Described as a "beacon of light" for popes and the Church, her life of battling adversities continues to inspire humanity.2 3
The short film "The Heart of Sister Lucia," produced by HM Television, premieres in Spanish on YouTube on December 10, 2025, at 9:30 p.m. local time in Spain.2 3
It highlights her simple yet intense life, aligning with the jubilee celebrations of the Pontevedra apparitions.2
These events underscore her role in promoting Fatima's messages of conversion and peace.3
Examine Catholic conversion narratives in the context of Marian apparitions
Marian apparitions, as private revelations approved by the Church, serve as profound instruments for deepening faith and fostering spiritual renewal within the Catholic tradition. These events, occurring after the completion of public Revelation in the New Testament, do not add new doctrines but illuminate and confirm existing truths of the faith. In the context of conversion narratives—stories of individuals drawn to or deepened in the Catholic faith—they highlight how such apparitions act as signs of God's ongoing salvific work, often calling people to repentance, prayer, and a closer union with Christ. While direct accounts of non-Catholic conversions triggered solely by apparitions are not exhaustively detailed in the available sources, the theological reflections on these phenomena reveal their role in confirming dogma, prophetic exhortations to conversion, and pastoral encouragement toward ecclesial communion. This examination draws on the Church's understanding of private revelations as aids to faith, emphasizing their orientation toward Christ and the Gospel.
Catholic teaching distinguishes private revelations from the definitive public Revelation entrusted to the Church, which demands full assent of faith. Private revelations, including Marian apparitions, seek only an assent of human faith based on prudence and credibility. They are given to individuals or small groups after the apostolic era and must not introduce novel salvific plans but rather lead believers deeper into the Gospel. As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) explains in his commentary on Fatima, the essential criterion for their authenticity is their Christocentric orientation: "When it leads us away from him, when it becomes independent of him or even presents itself as another and better plan of salvation, more important than the Gospel, then it certainly does not come from the Holy Spirit, who guides us more deeply into the Gospel and not away from it."
In conversion narratives, this framework underscores how Marian apparitions can catalyze a journey toward Catholic faith by confirming core doctrines and inviting personal encounter with divine truth. For instance, the apparition at Lourdes in 1858, occurring shortly after the 1854 dogma of the Immaculate Conception, is seen as Mary's own affirmation of this teaching. Pope Pius XII noted that "it seems that the Blessed Virgin Mary herself wished to confirm by some special sign the definition, which the Vicar of her Divine Son on earth had pronounced amidst the applause of the whole Church." Such events nourish faith through extraordinary signs, making the supernatural dimension of Catholic belief more tangible and drawing seekers—whether cradle Catholics or inquirers—toward ecclesial truth. Theologians like Marian Rusecki emphasize that these revelations always stem from God, using Mary as a mediator to reveal His salvific will in history. Thus, in narratives of conversion, apparitions function apologetically, countering doubt and relativism by manifesting God's intervention.
A key aspect of Marian apparitions is their prophetic dimension, analogous to the Old Testament prophets who called Israel to fidelity amid infidelity. Approved apparitions such as La Salette (1846), Lourdes (1858), Pontmain (1871), Fatima (1917), and Banneux and Beauraing (1932-1933) exhibit this character, urging conversion, prayer, penance, and moral renewal. Mary, as the New Eve and Mother of the Church, continues this mission by addressing the People of God in times of crisis—social, moral, or religious—reminding them of Christ's immutable teachings against relativism and the erosion of human dignity.
These messages resonate in conversion stories as imperatives for spiritual turnaround. At Fatima, for example, Our Lady's calls to prayer and penance for sinners highlighted truths like heaven, hell, and the need for expiation, often overlooked in pastoral practice. The visionaries, children already within the faith, embodied this by offering sacrifices for the conversion of others, illustrating how apparitions inspire a "prophetical imperative" for dynamic actualization of the Gospel. Theologian Georg Essen notes that such revelations actualize Tradition by confronting faith with historical realities, leading to deeper understanding. In broader narratives, this prophetic element has drawn converts by revealing the Church's enduring moral witness. For those disillusioned with secularism, Mary's words echo the Church's call to prioritize eternal realities over worldly pursuits, fostering a surrender to divine truth akin to relinquishing private judgment in favor of ecclesial authority. While not every conversion narrative cites a specific apparition, the Fatima messages, for instance, have influenced global devotion, prompting reflections on personal sin and the need for communal repentance—hallmarks of many Catholic entry stories.
Marian apparitions exert a pastoral influence by developing devotions that enhance living the faith, such as the Rosary at Fatima or liturgical feasts for Lourdes. These practices create communal bonds, drawing individuals into the Church's life and aiding conversions through shared piety. As Yves Congar observes, private revelations foster communion between the soul and God, emphasizing Gospel living over mere decision-making. In this ecclesiological vein, apparitions are "signs of the times," events in moments of crisis that the Church interprets in light of the Gospel, stimulating initiatives for social and spiritual renewal. Theologian Karl Rahner encourages theological scrutiny of such phenomena, even without official approval, to discern their communal significance.
Conversion narratives often reflect this by portraying apparitions as bridges to ecclesial belonging. The Lourdes story, while centered on Bernadette Soubirous—a young Catholic girl—sparked widespread pilgrimages and healings, confirming faith for skeptics and inquirers alike. Similarly, Fatima's emphasis on penance has inspired movements like the Divine Mercy devotion, indirectly linked through shared themes of mercy and conversion. For converts, these events provide a "kerygmatic-apologetic" witness, manifesting supernatural reality and inviting assent to the Church's magisterium. Though the sources do not detail non-Catholic conversions via apparitions (e.g., no explicit Protestant or secular narratives tied to Lourdes or Fatima), their theological role implies a universal call: apparitions remind all of the Church's teaching on morality and prayer, countering modern anti-values and promoting deeper reception of Revelation.
While Marian apparitions powerfully aid faith, the Church cautions against overemphasis, as belief in them is not obligatory. Sources highlight potential skepticism among theologians, yet affirm their value when Church-approved. In conversion contexts, divergent interpretations arise if apparitions are seen as independent of Christ, but authentic ones always orient toward Him. The available references, focused on theological analysis rather than personal testimonies, limit direct narratives; however, they underscore apparitions' relevance in confirming faith amid crises, as in Fatima's response to World War I-era turmoil. More recent papal affirmations, like those from Pius XII and John Paul II, take precedence, emphasizing apparitions' role in unity and penance.
Marian apparitions enrich Catholic conversion narratives by serving as divine signs that confirm doctrine, prophetically call to repentance, and pastorally draw souls into ecclesial communion. Rooted in private revelation's Christocentric purpose, they illuminate the Gospel's timeless truths, fostering conversions through deepened faith and moral renewal. As aids to public Revelation, they invite all—believers and seekers—to a profound encounter with Mary's maternal guidance toward her Son. In an age of relativism, these events remain vital reminders of the Church's unchanging witness, encouraging ongoing spiritual journeys toward full Catholic communion.