During the apparition of the Angel, he prostrated like his sister and me, carried away by the same supernatural force that moved us to do so: but he learned the prayer by hearing us repeat it, since he told us he heard nothing of what the Angel had said. Afterwards, when we prostrated to say that prayer, he was the first to feel the strain of such a posture; but he remained kneeling, or sitting and still praying, until we had finished. Later he said: “I am not able to stay like that for a long time, like you. My back aches so much that I can’t do it.”
At the second apparition of the Angel, down by the well, Francisco waited a few moments after it was over, then asked: “You spoke to the Angel. What did he say to you?” “Didn’t you hear?” “No! I could see that he was talking to you. I heard what you said to him; but what he said to you, I don’t know.” As the supernatural atmosphere in which the Angel left us had not yet entirely disappeared, I told him to ask Jacinta or myself the next day. “Jacinta, you tell me what the Angel said.” “I’ll tell you tomorrow. Today I can’t talk about it.” Next day, as soon as he came up to me, he asked me: “Did you sleep last night? I kept thinking about the Angel and what he could have said.” I then told him all that the Angel had said at the first and second apparitions.
But it seemed that he had not received an understanding of all that the words meant, for he asked: “Who is the Most High? What is the meaning of: ‘The Hearts of Jesus and Mary are attentive to the voice of your supplications?” Having received an answer, he remained deep in thought for a while, and then broke in with another question. But my mind was not yet free, so I told him to wait until the next day, because at that moment I was unable to speak. He waited quite contently, but he did not let slip the very next opportunity of putting more questions. This made Jacinta say to him: “Listen! We shouldn’t talk much about these things.” When we spoke about the Angel, I don’t know what it was that we felt. I don’t know how I feel,” Jacinta said. “I can no longer talk or sing, or play. I haven’t the strength enough for anything.” “Neither have I,” replied Francisco, “but what of it? The Angel is more beautiful than all this. Let’s think about him.”
In the third apparition, the presence of the supernatural made itself felt more intensely still. For several days even Francisco did not venture to speak. Later he said: “I love to see the Angel, but the worst of it is that, afterwards, we are unable to do anything. I couldn’t even walk. I don’t know what was the matter with me.” In spite of that, after the third apparition of the Angel, it was he that noticed that it was getting dark, and who drew our attention to the fact, and thought we should take our flocks back home.
Once the first few days were over and we had returned to normal, Francisco asked: “The Angel gave you Holy Communion, but what was it that he gave to Jacinta and me?”
“It was Holy Communion too,” replied Jacinta, with inexpressible joy. “Didn’t you see that it was the Blood that fell from the Host?”
“I felt that God was within me, but I did not know how!” Then prostrating on the ground, he and his sister remained for a long time, saying over and over again the prayer of the Angel, “Most Holy Trinity…”
Little by little the atmosphere of the supernatural faded away, and by the 13th of May, we were playing with almost as much enjoyment and freedom of spirit as we had done before.