Pope Francis to canonize Fatima shepherd children

FATIMA, Portugal - On May 13, Pope Francis will canonize two of the three shepherd children believed to have seen a vision of the Madonna 100 years ago in Fatima, Portugal.

Pope Francis will be in Fatima on May 12 and 13 where he will make saints of Francisco and Jacinta who died while they were still children several years after the visions. Their cousin, the third visionary, Lucia Dos Santos became a nun and died in 2005 at the age of 97.

The Catholic Church posthumously confers sainthood on people considered so holy during their lives that they are now believed to be with God and can intercede with him to perform miracles. Miracles are usually the medically unexplained healing of someone. The miracle connected to the siblings was believed to be the inexplicable healing of a Brazilian infant whose parents had prayed to the siblings but the Vatican has given no details.

Francisco and Jacinta Marto were beatified - the last step before sainthood - by Pope John Paul in 2000. The beatification process for Dos Santos began after her death in 2005. The Church believes that the Madonna gave the children three messages, the so-called three secrets of Fatima.

About a million people are expected to attend Pope Francis' mass on May 13. Worshippers visit Fatima all year round and many include a tour of the homes of the shepherds in their trip. — Reuters