Sister Lucy Truth independently hired two native Portuguese speakers to translate portions of a 21-minute video entitled “Irmã Lúcia,” focusing on the elderly “Sister Lucy II” on the occasion of the beatifications of Francisco and Jacinta in 2000. The video was produced and published by Agência Ecclesia, the official Catholic news agency in Portugal. This video may be seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQf2IaPF9V4
These translations highlight the strange words and behaviors of the elderly “Sister Lucy” in conversation with the then-bishop of Leiria-Fátima, Serafim Ferreira Silva, and another Carmelite nun present. Specifically, “Sister Lucy” and the bishop have a very casual, informal conversation, full of jests and frivolous comments unbefitting both the austerity of a Carmelite and the dignity of a bishop. Some of the conversation points include:
1. “Sister Lucy” and the bishop joke about her and John Paul II hitting each other with their canes.
2. She has to be reminded what her age is by another nun present.
3. She uses Our Lord’s name in vain when told that the images of Francisco and Jactina will be 10 meters high at the beatification ceremony.
4. A bizarre conversation about how kissing has become “normal” in society and how Sister Lucy has become accustomed to being greeted with kisses, even from the Pope. She says this after noting that in her youth, no one would kiss each other except an immediate family member.
But more importantly, both translators as well as a second linguist who has generously provided important linguistic notes for Sister Lucy Truth place Sister Lucy II’s accent from a region 100 miles north of Fátima, apparently from or near the city of Viseu.
As an addendum, we have included the above-mentioned linguistic notes about the various Portuguese dialects, drawn from scholarly sources, which help pinpoint the origin of Sister Lucy II’s accent.