By Fr. Edmund F. McCaffrey (1933 – 2016)

Blessed Alexandrina da Costa (1904-1955) lived the Fatima Message in a heroic way. She is often referred to as the “fourth seer of Fatima,” embracing suffering and sacrifice for the conversion of sinners, much like the children of Fatima. She lived in the small village in northern Portugal named Balasar, a pilgrim stop during many pilgrimages to Fatima. The Message of Fatima is a call to prayer and penance for the salvation of souls and the conversion of Russia and the world. Alexandrina is one of those unusual persons who we call a “victim soul.”  Everything she did and suffered, she did in imitation of Christ in order to be a victim, to cooperate with Christ in saving souls.

At the age of 14, she jumped out of the window of her home in Balasar to preserve her purity and escape from a rapist. Becoming an invalid, after total paralysis set in, her bed became her cross and she, the victim soul offering herself to God for the conversion of sinners. She dedicated herself to the Rosary, penance, and the Eucharist in order to ward off Divine Justice for the sins of mankind. On her bed in the solitude of her room she became a victim for sinners. In her agony and isolation, she prayed to the Blessed Sacrament in the nearby church of St. Eululia and realized that Jesus too was isolated and a prisoner in the tabernacle. This led to her union in spirit with the suffering Jesus. She frequently asked the Lord to let her pay for the sins of others so they could escape the fires of hell. As her sanctity became known, many flocked to her bedside and her message was that of Our Lady of Fatima as she admonished them: “Do penance, sin no more, pray the Rosary and receive the Eucharist.”

Our Lord began to bless Alexandrina with supernatural conversation with Him and unusual ecstasies. From 1938 to 1942 she underwent the agony of the Cross every Friday for three hours. Witnesses saw her recover the use of her limbs and leave her bed imitating the motions of Christ from Gethsemane to Calvary. The cross was invisible, her weight only 70 pounds, yet several strong men could not lift her. Needless to say, the devil hates to lose souls, so for a period of 10 years he attacked her by throwing her from the bed, blasphemy, and filling her bed with black smoke, which had a horrific odor.  Alexandrina was not persuaded from her prayer and penance and love of the Eucharist. In her many ecstasies she underwent a mystical journey into Purgatory, received the gift of prophecy and was mystically united to the Sacred Heart. While in ecstasy she prayed for the Church, which she foresaw to be in danger of a great crisis and threatened by a wild beast.

The spiritual director of Alexandrina related how the devil tormented her: “There was scarcely an hour of the day when she did not feel persecuted by him. The worst moments occurred from midday until three in the afternoon (while she was praying for priests), and after nine in the evening (when she was praying for those sinning against purity).” At times Alexandrina asked the Lord to relieve her, and He said, “My daughter, suffering is the key to Heaven.” During the ecstasies the Lord indicated to Alexandrina the need for Eucharistic reparation, “Keep Me company in the Blessed Sacrament. I remain in the tabernacle day and night waiting to give My love and grace to all who would visit Me. But so few come. . . Like Mary Magdalene, you have chosen the better part. You have chosen to love Me in the tabernacle. . . You have chosen that which is most sublime.”

Alexandrina’s love for the Eucharist was rewarded by the Lord allowing her to live on the Eucharist alone for the last 13-1/2 years of her life. No food or drink passed her lips, only the little white Host! The Archbishop of Braga invited her to undergo tests at a hospital in Oporto for 40 days and nights. At the end of this period the doctors were convinced that this was “scientifically inexplicable” as abstinence from all food during such a long period of time is incompatible with life. This extraordinary case, rather I would say exceptional case, can in no way be explained by purely natural means or through scientific data. Later, the explanation was given to Alexandrina by the Lord as He told her, “You are living only by the Eucharist because I want the world to know the power of the Eucharist and the power of My life in souls.”

Alexandrina is buried beside the altar of the parish church of St. Eululia in Balasar. Here is a true disciple of the Message of Fatima. The Lord revealed to Alexandrina the need for more souls willing to sacrifice to save sinners and change the world. Hopefully for many, a visit to Fatima will include Balasar and inspire many victims for sinners. As you kneel before the tomb, you will read. “Do not sin anymore. Never again offend our dear Lord…Convert yourselves. Do not lose Jesus for all eternity. He is so good.”  Let us thank Mary for Fatima and for souls like Blessed Alexandrina who lived the Fatima Message. Invoke Alexandrina’s name so that the cause for her canonization may be realized, for Christ revealed to her, “If anyone should invoke your name when you are in Heaven, they will never do so in vain. . . You will be powerful with the All-Powerful.”

Editor’s Note: Upcoming Fatima Pilgrimage

The pilgrimage also includes a WAF International Congress at our hotel and retreat center, with conferences presented on the theme of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary. Presenters include the Bishop of Fatima, rectors from the Shrine of Fatima, and Sister Angela de Fatima Coelho, the postulator for the cause of canonization of Sister Lucia. Visit avemariatours.org for more information.

Father Edmund F. McCaffrey, (1933 – 2016) was a diocesan priest and one time abbot of Belmont Abbey. He led numerous pilgrimages to Fatima and tried to visit annually. He wrote this article for Soul magazine, May-June 2002 issue.