Manuel Nunes Formigão

The major work of Father Manuel Nunes Formigão is the foundation of the Congregation of the Reparatory Sisters of Our Lady of Fátima (Congregação das Irmãs Reparadoras de Nossa Senhora de Fátima), initially called the Reparatory Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows. This female religious congregation of diocesan right was founded on January 6, 1926, in Lisbon.

The origin of this foundation is intimately linked to the apparitions of Fátima. In February 1920, shortly before her death at the D. Estefânia Hospital in Lisbon, the little visionary Jacinta Marto received a final visit from the Virgin Mary, who entrusted her with a message of reparation: "Our Lord is deeply indignant at the sins and crimes that are committed in Portugal. There must be someone who makes reparation." This message was transmitted to Father Formigão. Seized by this call, he committed himself to responding to it by founding an institute dedicated to reparation.

The mission of the congregation is structured around three axes: reparation (through continuous Eucharistic adoration and prayer), Marian devotion, and active apostolate. The sisters are notably dedicated to early childhood education (through kindergartens such as the Escola Infantil Jacinta Marto) and pastoral accompaniment. In 1934, the Bishop of Leiria, Msgr. José Alves Correia da Silva, called the sisters to settle in Fátima with these words: "Go to Fátima and live like the little shepherds." The motherhouse, the Casa de Nossa Senhora das Dores, was established there. The congregation subsequently developed in Portugal (Porto, Braga) and expanded into several Portuguese-speaking countries: Angola, Mozambique, and East Timor.

In parallel, Father Formigão deployed intense pastoral and social activity. In 1918, facing the Spanish flu epidemic, he founded the Nun'Álvares Association in Santarém to provide material, medical, and spiritual aid to the sick and their families. He was also the founder of the diocesan newspaper A Voz da Fátima and the association of the Servites of Our Lady of Fátima.

Father Formigão's journey toward holiness is inseparable from his role as a witness and investigator of the apparitions of Fátima in 1917. Initially, the priest was deeply skeptical of the accounts of the three children (Lúcia dos Santos, Francisco Marto, and Jacinta Marto). However, intrigued and sent by ecclesiastical authorities (notably the Archbishop of Mytilene), he traveled to the Cova da Iria on September 13, 1917.

On October 13, 1917, he witnessed the famous "Miracle of the Sun." Overwhelmed by this prodigy, he conducted extremely rigorous and cautious interrogations of the three pastorinhos that same evening and in the following days. His training as a canonist allowed him to ask precise questions to verify the consistency of their testimonies. Convinced of the veracity of the apparitions, he became the first great theologian and historian of the events of Fátima.

To protect the nascent work from the political and anticlerical attacks of the Portuguese First Republic, he published his first writings and investigations under the pseudonym Visconde de Montelo. In 1922, the Bishop of Leiria appointed him a member of the Canonical Commission for the study of the events of Fátima. His meticulous work of investigation and dissemination earned him the title of "Apostle of Fátima" or "Fourth little shepherd" from his contemporaries.

Stricken by a severe paralysis in 1956, Father Manuel Nunes Formigão endured his illness with heroic patience. He passed away on January 30, 1958, in Fátima, at the Casa de Nossa Senhora das Dores.

The priest's reputation for holiness led the Congregation of the Reparator Sisters of Our Lady of Fátima and the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima to request the opening of his cause for canonization. In November 2000, the Portuguese Episcopal Conference gave its approval. The diocesan inquiry was officially opened on September 15, 2001, and closed on April 16, 2005.

On January 28, 2017, his mortal remains were transferred from the local cemetery of Fátima to a mausoleum built within the Casa de Nossa Senhora das Dores.

On April 14, 2018, Pope Francis authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic virtues of the Servant of God, thereby conferring upon him the title of Venerable.

The spirituality of the Venerable Manuel Nunes Formigão is deeply Eucharistic, Marian, and reparatory. His leitmotif, "Reparar é amar" (To repair is to love), summarizes his desire to offer his life in reparation for the offenses committed against the Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. He knew how to combine high-level intellectual rigor with evangelical humility and attentive pastoral charity, particularly towards seminarians and the most destitute.

His legacy endures today through the vitality of the Congregation of the Reparatory Sisters of Our Lady of Fátima, who continue their mission of adoration and education throughout the world. Furthermore, the memory of the priest is preserved at the "Interpretation Center of the Venerable Father Manuel Nunes Formigão" (Espaço Padre Formigão - Casa do Apóstolo de Fátima) in Fátima, which invites pilgrims to discover the life of this discreet and cultured man who was the instrument of Providence in spreading the message of the Cova da Iria.