A Pathway Under The Gaze of Mary (Biography) by Carmel of Coimbra

Paperback: Sister Lúcia was a prominent figure of the Portuguese Catholic world of the 20th Century. 

As the Shepherdess of Fatima who, together with Francisco and Jacinta saw our Lady in 1917, she is regarded as a child blessed and chosen to spread the message of peace and salvation of God throughout the world.

As a Carmelite nun, she was known as as a privileged person dedicated to God and in service to His Church, one in whom people placed enormous confidence because of her role as Our Lady's confident. The contemporary history of the Church would hardly be complete without the inclusion of Sister Lúcia's role.

The references to the Holy Father and to his sufferings since the apparitions, as well as the revelation of the third part of the Secret of Fatima and the dramatic events experienced by the Church in the late second and early third millennium do not allow us to ignore Sister Lúcia. 

Reading the biography, A Pathway Under the Gaze of Mary (2013) - a biography of Sister Maria Lúcia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart - gives us a broader perspective of Sister Lúcia's personality. Written by the Sisters of Carmel of Coimbra, it reflects their personal knowledge of her daily life and writings, and provides testimonies that mirror the depth of her soul.

This book will help readers appreciate the distinctive qualities essential to the life of Sister Lúcia: love of God, devotion to Our Lady, unconditional fidelity to the Church and commitment to the salvation of lost humanity. After all, the Message of Fátima impels each and every one of us as Christians to fulfil our pathway under the gaze of Mary. 

A Pathway Under the Gaze of Mary is translated from the Portuguese by James A Colson. 

This book is a revised second edition published in 2019 by the Blue Army Press, World Apostolate of Fatima, USA. 

About the authors: In the 19th century, following the extinction of religious orders in Portugal, the nuns were forced to abandon the Carmel and were welcomed by relatives and friends. Later, many of them entered several Carmelite convents in Spain. 

In 1933, when Portugal was already enjoying religious freedom, three of the nuns of this community who had moved to Spain, decided to return, and with the support of three other Spanish nuns, restored the community and the Carmel of Coimbra. 

Years later and after many endeavours, the Carmelites managed to recover the keys of the convent from which they had been expelled, and this was the only Carmel that the government returned to the order, thus it continued being the retirement home of a Carmelite community that lives a life of silent  for the church and for mankind.

Among the many religious who lived in the Carmel of Saint Theresa stands out Sister Lúcia, seer of Fátima, who lived in the convent from 1948 to 2005 (the year she died) having professed in 1949. 

After the death of Sister Lúcia, the Carmel of Saint Theresa created the Sister Lúcia’s Memorial, where you can see a replica of her cell, as well as some of her personal belongings, photographs, her manual work and other elements that help us understand her life path.