Francisco was a boy of few words. Whenever he prayed or offered sacrifices, he preferred to go apart and hide, even from Jacinta and myself. Quite often we surprised him hidden behind a wall or a clump of blackberry bushes, whither he had ingeniously slipped away to kneel and pray, or think, as he said, of Our Lord, Who is sad on account of so many sins.
If I asked him: “Francisco, why don’t you tell me to pray with you and Jacinta too?” “I prefer to pray by myself,” he answered, “so that I can think and console Our Lord, who is so sad!” I asked him one day: “Francisco, which do you like better–to console Our Lord, or to convert sinners, so that no more souls will go to hell?” “I would rather console Our Lord. Didn’t you notice how sad Our Lady was last month, when she said that people must not offend Our Lord any more, for He is already much offended? I would rather console Our Lord, and after that convert sinners so that they won’t offend Him anymore.”
Sometimes, on our way to school, as soon as we reached Fatima, He would say to me: “Listen! You go to school, and I’ll stay here in the church, close to Hidden Jesus. It’s not worth my while learning to read, as I’ll be going to heaven very soon. On your way home, come here and call me.” The Blessed Sacrament was kept at that time near the entrance of the church, on the left side, as the church was undergoing repairs. Francisco went over there, between the baptismal font and the altar, and that’s where I found him on my return.
Later, when he fell ill, he often told me, when I called in to see him on my way to school: “Look! Go to the church and give my love to the Hidden Jesus. What hurts me most is that I cannot go there myself and stay awhile with Hidden Jesus.” When I arrived at his house one day, I said goodbye to a group of school children who had come with me, and I went in to pay a visit to him and his sister.
As he had heard all the noise, he asked me: “Did you come with all that crowd?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Don’t go with them, because you might learn to commit sins. When you come out of school, go and stay for a little while near the Hidden Jesus, and afterwards come home by yourself.”
On one occasion, I asked him: “Francisco, do you feel very sick?”
“I do, but I’m suffering to console Our Lord.”
When Jacinta and I went into his room one day, he said to us: “Don’t talk much today, as my head aches so badly.” “Don’t forget to make the offering for sinners,” Jacinta reminded Him. “Yes. But first I make it to console Our Lord and Our Lady, and then, afterwards, for sinners and for the Holy Father.”
On another occasion, I found him very happy when I arrived. “Are you better?” “No. I feel worse. It won’t be long now till I go to heaven. When I’m there, I’m going to console Our Lord and Our Lady very much. Jacinta is going to pray a lot for sinners, for the Holy Father, and for you. You will stay here, because Our Lady wants it that way. Listen, you must do everything that she tells you.” While Jacinta seemed to be solely concerned with the one thought of converting sinners and saving souls from going to hell, Francisco appeared to think only of consoling Our Lady, who had seemed to him to be so sad.