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Speaker 1: A light breeze blew through the olive grove as the

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Speaker 1: four young girls kneeled down in their simple clothes and

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Speaker 1: quietly began to recite the rosary, their soft voices mixing

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Speaker 1: with the gentle rustle of leaves as they each passed

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Speaker 1: the beads between their hands. It was early summer in

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Speaker 1: nineteen fifteen, and the girls, aged between eight and ten,

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Speaker 1: all hailed from the nearby hamlet of Algiu Strell in

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Speaker 1: the parish of Fatima in western Portugal. Having been shepherding

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Speaker 1: sheep all morning, they'd come to the grove, a favorite

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Speaker 1: spot of theirs, located in the pastures of a hill

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Speaker 1: known locally as the Cabazo, to rest in the shade

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Speaker 1: and eat their lunch. From there, they had a charming

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Speaker 1: view of the valley all the way down to Algustrell,

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Speaker 1: which was comprised of little more than a small cluster

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Speaker 1: of whitewashed houses dotted around a single rocky track clinging

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Speaker 1: to the side of a distant hill. As the girls

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Speaker 1: continued to recite the rosary, eight year old Lucia gazed

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Speaker 1: out absent mindedly toward the village when she seemed suddenly

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Speaker 1: distracted by something. What is it, the others asked, having

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Speaker 1: stopped their prayers. What's that, said Lucia, pointing to a

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Speaker 1: small copse of trees a little further down the hill.

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Speaker 1: The others looked over to it and saw what Lucia

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Speaker 1: was referring to. It looked like a small cloud, as

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Speaker 1: white as pure snow, which was twisting and curling in

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Speaker 1: an unusual way. The girls watched on in stunned silence

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Speaker 1: as the cloud continued to shift and turn, until it

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Speaker 1: began to take the shape of what they took to

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Speaker 1: be the body of a woman. A few moments later,

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Speaker 1: and the cloud simply disappeared. You're listening to Unexplained and

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Speaker 1: I'm Richard McClane smith. Lucia Dos Santos lived with her

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Speaker 1: mother Maria Rosa and father Antonio in the last house

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Speaker 1: on the left, at the bottom of the rocky lane

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Speaker 1: that ran through their village. Much adored by all in

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Speaker 1: the local community, Lucia was often to be found dancing

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Speaker 1: and singing about the place and encouraging others to join

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Speaker 1: in with her. She was talkative too, but in the

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Speaker 1: months following the strange event out on the pasture, she

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Speaker 1: and her friends decided to keep whatever it was they

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Speaker 1: had seen a secret. By nineteen sixteen, at only nine

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Speaker 1: years old, she was considered responsible enough to command her

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Speaker 1: family's flock of sheep, a responsibility she took on gladly,

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Speaker 1: despite the wincingly early starts. Best of all, however, were

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Speaker 1: the days when her much loved cousins, six year old

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Speaker 1: Jacinta and eight year old Francisco Marto, were able to

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Speaker 1: join her. On those mornings, the cousins would congregate at

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Speaker 1: Lucilla's home, often before the sun had even risen, to

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Speaker 1: begin their journey, leading the sheep to the Cabaso or

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Speaker 1: any one of the nearby pastures in Thatchama. From there,

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Speaker 1: they would then return home, usually some time in the

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Speaker 1: early afternoon. The children had done this together for the

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Speaker 1: best part of a year, with nothing unusual appearing to

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Speaker 1: have taken place when one day in May nineteen seventeen,

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Speaker 1: Jacinta and Francisco's parents, Olympia and Manuel Marto, who'd been

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Speaker 1: out purchasing a pig in Battalia ten miles away, returned

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Speaker 1: home to find the then seven year old Jacinta rushing

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Speaker 1: out to greet them. What is it, asked Olympia at

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Speaker 1: the look of excitement on her daughter's face. Jacinta, who'd

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Speaker 1: been waiting all afternoon for her parents to return, couldn't

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Speaker 1: get the words out fast enough. They'd seen the Virgin Mary,

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Speaker 1: she said out in the pastures. Olympia laughed and rolled

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Speaker 1: her eyes at Manuel as they grappled with their new

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Speaker 1: perchase and dashered it into its pen. But it's true,

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Speaker 1: insisted Jacinta, with a look of such certitude it made

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Speaker 1: Olympia a little uncomfortable as she attempted to brush it

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Speaker 1: off again. Jacinta would not be deterred. Later that night,

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Speaker 1: she told her family everything. It all started a year ago,

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Speaker 1: back in the spring of nineteen sixteen. The children had

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Speaker 1: just arrived with the sheep at the Cabaso on a

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Speaker 1: perfectly calm day when a sudden rainstorm blew into the valley.

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Speaker 1: After running up the hill to find shelter under a

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Speaker 1: big rock, the rain quickly stopped, only for a sudden

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Speaker 1: gust of wind to blow unexpectedly through the pasture. Then

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Speaker 1: in the distance, a strange light began to shine out

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Speaker 1: over a small cluster of trees, as though the sun

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Speaker 1: were being refracted through crystal, which eventually coalesced into the

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Speaker 1: shape of a boy no more than fourteen years old.

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Speaker 1: Dressed all in white. The boy approached them and to

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Speaker 1: them he was the Angel of Portugal, guardian of their country,

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Speaker 1: telling them also that they should bear and accept the

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Speaker 1: sufferings they were due to receive, and that they should

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Speaker 1: pray for an end to the great war that was

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Speaker 1: ravaging Europe at the time, before vanishing. As Jacinta continued

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Speaker 1: to explain, the angel returned a number of times over

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Speaker 1: the next few months while they were out in the fields.

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Speaker 1: One day in October, after another bright light had suddenly

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Speaker 1: shone out above the trees, the boy appeared again, this

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Speaker 1: time holding a golden chalice in his left hand, while

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Speaker 1: above it a host floated in the air, from which

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Speaker 1: drops of blood steadily fell into the cup. Leaving the

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Speaker 1: chalice hovering in the air. The angel knelt down and

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Speaker 1: told them all to pray with him so that all

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Speaker 1: sinners could be said. Then, taking the blood filled cup,

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Speaker 1: he handed it to Jacinta and told her and Francisco

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Speaker 1: to drink from it, saying that it was the blood

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Speaker 1: of Christ. He then took the host from the air

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Speaker 1: as it continued to drip with blood and gave it

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Speaker 1: to Lucia to eat, telling her it was the body

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Speaker 1: of Christ, and then once again he vanished. Is this true,

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Speaker 1: Olympia said, turning to her son Francisco, who joined his

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Speaker 1: parents to listen to his sister's story. He nodded that

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Speaker 1: it was, explaining that although he couldn't see the angel,

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Speaker 1: like Jacinta and Lucia said they could, he could hear him,

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Speaker 1: he said. Olympia looked to Manuel, who could only shrug

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Speaker 1: blankly in response. Then Jacinta continued her peculiar story. Despite

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Speaker 1: the apparent Angel of Portugal's visitations ending in October, the

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Speaker 1: children continued to pray for peace and for sinners, just

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Speaker 1: as he lasked, and hoped that he might one day return.

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Speaker 1: On May thirteenth, nineteen seventeen, about a year after the

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Speaker 1: Angel of Portugal's first alleged appearance, Lucia decided they should

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Speaker 1: take the sheep to covert the aria for the day,

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Speaker 1: a stretch of pasture dotted with home oaks and wild

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Speaker 1: flowers about a mile and a half north of Algiu Strell.

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Speaker 1: That morning, the children had seen nothing untoward when they

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Speaker 1: broke for lunch, and afterwards conducted their usual reciting of

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Speaker 1: the Rosary. No sooner had they begun, however, when a

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Speaker 1: burst of lightning flashed across the sky. Fearing an imminent rainstorm,

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Speaker 1: they rounded up the sheep and hurried down the hill.

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Speaker 1: When another bolt of lightning flashed in the sky above, stop,

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Speaker 1: shouted Lucia. Look. She was pointing to a small oak

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Speaker 1: sapling barely higher than a bush, above which a woman

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Speaker 1: dressed in a white, golden trimmed robe, holding a crucifix

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Speaker 1: and rosary beads in her hands, appeared to be hovering.

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Speaker 1: The woman told them that she was from heaven and

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Speaker 1: that she wouldn't hurt them, and the children immediately fell

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Speaker 1: to their knees. Then, just like the Angel of Portugal,

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Speaker 1: the woman who just sint A claimed, eventually revealed herself

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Speaker 1: to be marry The virgin mother implored the children to

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Speaker 1: continue to say the Rosary every day and to pray

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Speaker 1: for peace. Lucia then apparently proceeded to engage in a

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Speaker 1: conversation with her, asking whether friends of hers were in

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Speaker 1: heaven too, to which the woman replied that although some were,

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Speaker 1: others were trapped in purgatory. After a short time, Mary

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Speaker 1: then opened her hands, bathing them all in a bright

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Speaker 1: light that shone right out of them, then ascended into

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Speaker 1: the sky and disappeared from sight. It was a strange tale,

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Speaker 1: to say the least, and though Jacinta's father Manuel was

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Speaker 1: not so quick to dismiss it, her mother Olympia, had

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Speaker 1: little doubt it was nothing but her children's imaginations running wild.

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Speaker 1: Lucia's mother, Maria Rosa, who got wind of it the

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Speaker 1: following morning, however, was not so charitable. Having heard about

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Speaker 1: it from a neighbor, the deeply religious Maria Rosa, unavowed Catholic,

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Speaker 1: fronted her then ten year old daughter, immediately demanding that

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Speaker 1: she confessed to making it all up, and accusing her

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Speaker 1: of committing the cardinal sin of lying not to mention sacrilege.

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Speaker 1: To her horror, Lucia refused, But it's all true, she

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Speaker 1: said to her mother, with an eerie calmness, every word

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Speaker 1: of it. Later that day, with word having quickly spread

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Speaker 1: through the village about what Lucia, Jacinta, and Francisco had

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Speaker 1: apparently seen, the three young children were roundly mocked and

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Speaker 1: jeered as they made their way back out to the pastures,

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Speaker 1: with the sheep. When Lucia returned home in the afternoon,

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Speaker 1: her mother, Maria Rosa, tried once more to get her

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Speaker 1: to admit it was all a lie, and demanded that

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Speaker 1: she visit every house in the village to confess to

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Speaker 1: all her neighbors too. She even threatened to lock her

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Speaker 1: up in a dark room if she didn't comply, but

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Speaker 1: Lucia continued to refuse, maintaining that it was all true.

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Speaker 1: In fact, she said her mother could see it for herself,

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Speaker 1: since Mary had told them she would return to the

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Speaker 1: coved Aria on the thirteenth of every month for the

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Speaker 1: next six months, and so as June thirteenth approached, with

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Speaker 1: reports of the children's incredible sighting having by then spread

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Speaker 1: throughout the entirety of the district of Fatima, the children's

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Speaker 1: parents braced themselves for whatever might happen next. Thankfully, since

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Speaker 1: June thirteenth was also the lively feast day of Saint

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Speaker 1: Anthony of Lisbon. For the parents, there was at least

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Speaker 1: the possibility that their children might be too distract to

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Speaker 1: make the trip to cover Dairia that day, but the

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Speaker 1: children had other ideas. Having taken the sheep to Elgnos,

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Speaker 1: in the morning a small pasture just outside their village.

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Speaker 1: As a distraction tactic. The children reconvened in Fatchama later

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Speaker 1: that morning, where they were joined by fourteen other children

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Speaker 1: friends of Lucia's, who also wanted to see the Virgin Mary.

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Speaker 1: Out at Coverdiria, a small number of villagers and other

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Speaker 1: locals had begun to gather. Some were true believers, while

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Speaker 1: others were merely curious to see what the strange story

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Speaker 1: was all about. When shortly before eleven am they saw

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Speaker 1: the procession of children heading up the hill toward them.

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Speaker 1: At the front was the stony faced Lucia, flanked by

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Speaker 1: the equally solemn Jacinta and Francisco, while behind them were

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Speaker 1: Lucier's fourteen friends, as well as a handful of grown

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Speaker 1: ups they picked up along the way. The procession continued

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Speaker 1: right up to the tree over which the Virgin Mary

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Speaker 1: had apparently appeared, and then came to a stop. As

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Speaker 1: Lucia gestured for the others to find a seat Higher

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Speaker 1: up the hill, she, Jacinta, and Francisco headed into the

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Speaker 1: shade of another tree near by, and then sat down

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Speaker 1: underneath it. As the crowd waited expectantly. A young woman

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Speaker 1: from Bolaires began to read aloud from a book of prayer,

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Speaker 1: when suddenly there was a slight dimming of the sun's light,

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Speaker 1: followed by a sudden brightening. Stop, said Lucier, cutting off

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Speaker 1: the woman from Beolairs. There'll be no time to finish.

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Speaker 1: Don't you see the lightning, she said, turning to Jascinta.

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Speaker 1: Our lady is coming. At Lucia's insistence, the three children

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Speaker 1: got up and ran to the blessed oak tree as

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Speaker 1: everyone else quickly crowded in behind them and dropped to

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Speaker 1: their knees. Then Lucia raised her hands in prayer and

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Speaker 1: began speaking out loud, as if conversing with someone. The

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Speaker 1: crowd listened intently as Lucia did her best to describe

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Speaker 1: what was going on. Our lady had returned, she said,

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Speaker 1: and once again asked that they all continue to recite

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Speaker 1: the Rosary every day and pray for peace. Lucia asked

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Speaker 1: once more about friends that had died and whether they

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Speaker 1: were in heaven, to which Mary replied that they were.

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Speaker 1: Then the young girl asked brightly if Mary would take

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Speaker 1: her and her cousins to heaven. There was a short

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Speaker 1: pause as Lucia appeared suddenly concerned by whatever it was

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Speaker 1: she was hearing. Yes, we will go to heaven, she

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Speaker 1: said to her cousins. For me, it will be some

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Speaker 1: time yet, But for you, she says, it will be

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Speaker 1: very soon. The seven year old Jacinta and nine year

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Speaker 1: old Francisco nodded humbly in acceptance. Lucier then claimed to

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Speaker 1: see a bright light appear from out at the palms

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Speaker 1: of Mary's hands, inside which she then saw a large

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Speaker 1: human heart pierced with thorns. The crowd gasped in wonder

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Speaker 1: at the description of the immaculate heart, and with that

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Speaker 1: Lucier stood up suddenly and stretched out her arms. Look

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Speaker 1: there she goes, she cried, to a space above the

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Speaker 1: small oak tree. People in the crowd that day claimed

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Speaker 1: in that moment to see a small cloud just above

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Speaker 1: the tree, which then rose up, slowly heading eastwards, before

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Speaker 1: swiftly disappearing into the sky. And when they looked back

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Speaker 1: to the top of the tree, they saw the branches

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Speaker 1: there had somehow been flattened and bent eastward at the tips,

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Speaker 1: as though someone had just been standing on top of it.

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Speaker 1: When news reached Lucia's mother, Rosa Maria about what had happened.

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Speaker 1: She was gripped with fear. Terrified that her daughter was

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Speaker 1: committing blasphemy, she consulted her local pastor, father Manuel for Era,

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Speaker 1: for advice on what to do for Rosa. Maria for

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Speaker 1: Era's word was as good as the word of God themselves,

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Speaker 1: and what he had to tell her only terrified her

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Speaker 1: even more. According to Ferrara, there was simply no way

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Speaker 1: that the stories were true, meaning Lucia was absolutely committing blasphemy.

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Speaker 1: But worse than that, the pastor had good reason to

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Speaker 1: believe that the devil might be behind it all, trying

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Speaker 1: to take advantage of her daughter, using her to undermine

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Speaker 1: the dignity of the Catholic Church and all who follow it,

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Speaker 1: and so on. Ferrara's advice, Maria Rosa took the three

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00:18:38,520 --> 00:18:41,560
Speaker 1: children to his house so he could try and wring

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Speaker 1: the truth from them. For the best part of an hour,

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00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:50,720
Speaker 1: the increasingly angry and impatient Ferera screamed at the children

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Speaker 1: to cease all mention of the sightings and renounce them

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Speaker 1: as a lie. The interrogation was said to be so

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Speaker 1: harrowing that Lucia contemplated confessing. At one point just to

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Speaker 1: get the pastor to stop, but in the end she refused.

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Speaker 1: In the wake of the second apparent visitation and the

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Speaker 1: children's stoicism in front of father for Erra, their fame

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Speaker 1: only intensified, and before long most of Portugal had heard

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Speaker 1: the rumors of the three children from Fatima and the

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Speaker 1: alleged appearances of the Virgin Mary, so much so that

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Speaker 1: come July thirteenth, the children arrived at Coverta area to

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Speaker 1: find a crowd of hundreds waiting for them. Among them

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Speaker 1: was Jacinta and Francisco's father, Manuel, keen to see it

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Speaker 1: all for himself, but even he was forced by the

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Speaker 1: size of the crowd to watch from afar, looking on

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Speaker 1: helplessly as it continued to swell in size, while two

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Speaker 1: strangers took it on themselves to form a barrier around

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Speaker 1: his childre to protect them from the throng. It was

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Speaker 1: some time again around eleven am when a sudden bright

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Speaker 1: light was said to have flashed in the sky, and

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Speaker 1: Lucia turned to the crowd of onlookers and yelled, our

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Speaker 1: lady is coming, after which Lucia proceeded to communicate with

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Speaker 1: the apparent Mary, while Jacinta and Francisco stood silently by

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Speaker 1: her side as she spoke. Some claimed to see a

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Speaker 1: small gray cloud resting on top of the oak tree,

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Speaker 1: while others heard a strange humming noise, like the buzzing

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Speaker 1: of a loud mosquito, emanating from the general direction of

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Speaker 1: the children. On that third apparent visitation. Mary's message, at first,

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Speaker 1: according to Lucia, was very much the same as previous visitations,

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Speaker 1: with her requests that everyone continued to say the Rosary

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Speaker 1: and pray for sinners. But as the crowd grew a

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Speaker 1: little restless, demanding proof that the Virgin Mary was truly

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Speaker 1: among them, Lucia asked out loud if she might be

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Speaker 1: able to show herself. After a short pause, Lucier explained

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Speaker 1: to the onlookers that she could not at that point

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Speaker 1: in time. However, she promised to perform a miracle in

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Speaker 1: October that would silence all the doubters. Then some in

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Speaker 1: the crowd began shouting out to Lucia, begging her to

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Speaker 1: ask Mary to heal loved ones. Lucier replied that Mary

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00:21:44,640 --> 00:21:47,760
Speaker 1: had heard their cries and would help some, but not

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Speaker 1: all of them. This continued for a good few minutes

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Speaker 1: until Lucia suddenly went quiet, saying that Mary wanted to

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Speaker 1: show her something, With the out quickly falling silent in response,

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00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,960
Speaker 1: all watched on as the ten year old Lucier's face

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00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:11,320
Speaker 1: suddenly drained of color and a look of deep terror

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Speaker 1: came over her, causing the crowd to gasp loudly in unison.

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00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:22,120
Speaker 1: Moments later, with Lucia seemingly recovered from whatever she'd seen,

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Speaker 1: she then stood silently herself deep in concentration, nodding along

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Speaker 1: as if receiving some kind of instruction. Then a clap

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00:22:32,640 --> 00:22:36,200
Speaker 1: of thunder rumbled through the valley and shook the ground,

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Speaker 1: and Lucia turned to the crowd. There she goes, she said,

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Speaker 1: pointing up to the sky. Within seconds, one after another

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00:22:46,920 --> 00:22:51,200
Speaker 1: disgruntled voice rose up, demanding to know what Lucia had

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Speaker 1: seen that was so terrifying and what exactly the virgin

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00:22:55,800 --> 00:23:00,760
Speaker 1: Mary had told her, But Lucia refused to answer, claiming

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Speaker 1: that Mary wanted her to keep it a secret. But

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Speaker 1: the voices would not be silenced as they continued harassing

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Speaker 1: the young girl, shouting at her to reveal awe while

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00:23:12,520 --> 00:23:18,399
Speaker 1: others simply called her a Charlatan, Jacinta and Francisco's father,

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00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:22,520
Speaker 1: Manuel could only watch in horror as the crowd then

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Speaker 1: surged forward toward his children, surrounding and threatening them, until

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00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,720
Speaker 1: eventually enough people were able to calm things down and

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00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:43,080
Speaker 1: the crowd finally dispersed. Over the next few weeks, talk

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00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:46,760
Speaker 1: of the mysterious secret that Lucia had apparently been given

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00:23:47,359 --> 00:23:50,399
Speaker 1: was all the people of al Giustrell could talk about.

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00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,680
Speaker 1: Some were elevated by the prospect that their village had

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00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:59,520
Speaker 1: been blessed by the Virgin Mary's arrival. Others, however, couldn't

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00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:03,360
Speaker 1: help but feel a little uneasy about it all. Maria

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00:24:03,480 --> 00:24:07,960
Speaker 1: Rosa especially continued to fear for her daughter's reputation in

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Speaker 1: the eyes of the Lord and demanded once again that

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Speaker 1: she put an end to the foolish charade, and once

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00:24:14,640 --> 00:24:20,400
Speaker 1: again Lucia refused. Large crowds of people from all over

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Speaker 1: the country began turning up at the children's homes, demanding

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Speaker 1: to know what secret knowledge had been passed to them,

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00:24:27,680 --> 00:24:31,359
Speaker 1: with Jacinta and Francisco by then also claiming to be

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00:24:31,440 --> 00:24:35,760
Speaker 1: in possession of it. But the children said nothing other

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Speaker 1: than to ask everyone to continue to pray for peace

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Speaker 1: and an end to the war. And as the fascination

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00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:47,600
Speaker 1: in them continued to grow throughout Portugal, it wasn't only

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00:24:47,640 --> 00:24:52,160
Speaker 1: their parents who were beginning to feel the strain. It

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00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:55,919
Speaker 1: was sometime in August nineteen seventeen that news of the

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Speaker 1: bazaar goings on in Fatima reached Artur de Santos, the

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Speaker 1: mayor of n'av Geragne, which contained the district of Fatima,

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Speaker 1: whose job it was to essentially keep the peace in

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00:25:07,960 --> 00:25:13,119
Speaker 1: the area. As a staunch republican and atheist, De Santos

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00:25:13,200 --> 00:25:17,200
Speaker 1: had been installed as mayor in October nineteen fifteen as

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Speaker 1: one of the new wave of young politicians hoping to

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Speaker 1: build a new kind of Portugal in the wake of

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Speaker 1: the nineteen ten Revolution which had overthrown the Portuguese monarchy.

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Speaker 1: Keen to quash the religious hysteria that was building around

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Speaker 1: the children, he sent a summons to their houses, ordering

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Speaker 1: their parents to bring the children to the Oragne town

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00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:44,760
Speaker 1: hall on August eleventh, two days before the supposed Virgin

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Speaker 1: Mary was due to appear again. On the morning of

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Speaker 1: August eleventh, Manuel Marto, who elected not to bring his children,

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00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:05,040
Speaker 1: accompanied Lucia and her father Antonio on the long trek

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00:26:05,119 --> 00:26:08,560
Speaker 1: to the town hall. Which was located almost two hours

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00:26:08,640 --> 00:26:13,359
Speaker 1: walk from their village. Once there, they were directed to

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00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:18,040
Speaker 1: to Santos's office, who, like others before him, then demanded

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00:26:18,080 --> 00:26:22,600
Speaker 1: that Lucia come clean about her and her cousin's outlandish claims,

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00:26:23,160 --> 00:26:26,840
Speaker 1: even insinuating that he could have her killed if she

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00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 1: failed to do as he requested. But again she refused

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Speaker 1: to do it, insisting that it was all true and

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00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:40,920
Speaker 1: exasperated to Santos then turned to her father and Manuel

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00:26:41,560 --> 00:26:44,879
Speaker 1: and asked them what others in the village thought about

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00:26:44,920 --> 00:26:50,719
Speaker 1: it all. Antonio replied that most, including himself, didn't believe

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00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:55,960
Speaker 1: any of it, but Manuel wasn't so sure. He'd seen

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Speaker 1: the children at coverd Aria back in July, and still

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00:27:00,480 --> 00:27:04,320
Speaker 1: haunted by that look he'd seen on Lucier's face, he

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00:27:04,359 --> 00:27:08,919
Speaker 1: couldn't deny the sincerity of it. Furthermore, he just couldn't

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00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,000
Speaker 1: believe that his children would make such a thing up.

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00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:16,639
Speaker 1: Either way, it was clear to De Santos that he

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00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:19,440
Speaker 1: needed another plan if he was to put an end

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00:27:19,440 --> 00:27:23,119
Speaker 1: to it all, and so it was that on the

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Speaker 1: morning of August thirteenth, while Manuel was at work, he

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Speaker 1: was suddenly summoned back to his home, where he arrived

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Speaker 1: an hour or so later to find the mayor waiting

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Speaker 1: for him in his living room. Desantos explained that he'd

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00:27:39,480 --> 00:27:44,280
Speaker 1: simply come to accompany Manuel's children to covert Aria to

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Speaker 1: see the miracle for himself. Though a little wary of

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Speaker 1: the mayor, Manuel agreed to let his children ride alongside

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00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:56,919
Speaker 1: him in his horse and carriage while he Lucier and

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00:27:57,040 --> 00:28:00,760
Speaker 1: her father, Antonio agreed to follow in an another carriage

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00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:06,360
Speaker 1: behind them. Before setting off, however, the mayor suggested they

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00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:18,440
Speaker 1: visit Father Ferreira's parsonage first. After arriving at the steps

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00:28:18,480 --> 00:28:22,280
Speaker 1: of Father Ferrera's home, Lucia was ordered out of her

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00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:26,119
Speaker 1: carriage and told to go into the house, while Antonio

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00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:29,560
Speaker 1: and Manuel were told to wait for her on the pavement.

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Speaker 1: When all of a sudden, the children were all whisked

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00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:37,240
Speaker 1: away in the Mayor's carriage. I'm shore as to what

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00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:42,120
Speaker 1: was happening. Manuel and Antonio gave chase, hoping that the

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00:28:42,200 --> 00:28:46,160
Speaker 1: mayor was merely taking their children straight to Covid d Eiria.

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Speaker 1: The pair could only watch in horror. However, when the

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00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:55,720
Speaker 1: mayor's carriage approached the turn for Covid Eiria, only for

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00:28:55,800 --> 00:28:59,560
Speaker 1: his driver to suddenly flick hard on the reins before

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00:28:59,640 --> 00:29:03,280
Speaker 1: taking the carriage in the opposite direction toward a rain.

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00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:09,680
Speaker 1: Inside the carriage, the children screamed, terrified that they were

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00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:14,480
Speaker 1: being taken to be executed. An hour or so later,

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00:29:15,080 --> 00:29:18,280
Speaker 1: they arrived at the mayor's house and were promptly thrown

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00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:21,800
Speaker 1: into a room and told to stay there until the

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00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:25,160
Speaker 1: mayor's wife arrived and took pity on them, bringing them

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00:29:25,200 --> 00:29:30,280
Speaker 1: toys and something to eat. The following day, however, when

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Speaker 1: the children refused yet again to recount their story or

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00:29:34,320 --> 00:29:37,920
Speaker 1: reveal the secret they had apparently been told, they were

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00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,400
Speaker 1: thrown straight into the public jail and told that if

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00:29:41,400 --> 00:29:45,320
Speaker 1: they continued to withhold the truth, they would each one

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00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,800
Speaker 1: by one be thrown into a pot of boiling oil

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Speaker 1: until one of them confessed. Later that morning, the three

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Speaker 1: young children sat quietly side by side alongside the prisons

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00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:05,240
Speaker 1: regular adult population, many of whom told them just to

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Speaker 1: tell the mayor what he wanted to hear so they

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Speaker 1: could leave, but the children would not. At some point

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Speaker 1: in the afternoon, the cell door was opened and a

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Speaker 1: stern looking man marched straight in and grabbed Jacinta, pulling

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Speaker 1: her out as Lucia, and Francisco cried after her helplessly.

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Speaker 1: Thirty minutes later, the man returned for Francisco, and a

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Speaker 1: short time after that the door opened again. Right then,

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Speaker 1: Lucia said the man your turn for the oil. You've

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Speaker 1: been listening to Part one of Unexplained, Season six, episode twenty,

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00:30:54,400 --> 00:31:00,200
Speaker 1: Children of the Pastures. Part two will be released next week, Friday,

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00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:06,320
Speaker 1: August twelfth. If you enjoy Unexplained and would like to

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00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:09,120
Speaker 1: help support us, you can now do so via Patreon.

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Speaker 1: To receive access to add three episodes, just go to

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Speaker 1: patron dot com forward slash Unexplained pod to sign up. Unexplained,

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Speaker 1: the book and audiobook, featuring ten stories that have never

406
00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:24,080
Speaker 1: before been covered on the show, is now available to

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00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:28,040
Speaker 1: buy worldwide. You can purchase through Amazon, Barnes and Noble,

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Speaker 1: and Waterstones, among other bookstores. All elements of Unexplained, including

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00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:36,120
Speaker 1: the show's music, are produced by me Richard McClain smith.

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Speaker 1: Please subscribe and rate the show wherever you listen to podcasts,

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Speaker 1: and feel free to get in touch with any thoughts

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00:31:42,160 --> 00:31:44,760
Speaker 1: or ideas regarding the stories you've heard on the show.

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00:31:45,360 --> 00:31:47,440
Speaker 1: Perhaps you have an explanation of your own you'd like

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Speaker 1: to share, You can reach us online at Unexplained podcast

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Speaker 1: dot com, or Twitter at Unexplained pod and Facebook at

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