COIMBRA, Portugal, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Portuguese mourners by the hundreds came to the funeral Tuesday of Sister Lucia, who claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary in 1917.
The devout Roman Catholic, who died Sunday at the age of 97, was the last of three shepherd children whose reported visions of the mother of Jesus turned the town of Fatima into a pilgrimage site, the BBC reported.
In a condolence message read at the Coimbra cathedral, Pope John Paul II said he had "always felt lifted by the daily gift of her prayers, especially in difficult and testing moments of suffering."
Sister Lucia's death had been expected.
"She had been weak for several weeks and had not left her cell," said Coimbra Bishop Albino Cleto.
Meanwhile, Lisbon authorities declared Tuesday a national day of mourning.
