Father Luciano Coelho Cristino, former director of the Study and Dissemination Service of the sanctuary and a pioneer in systematizing the critical history of the apparitions and the message of Fátima, passed away at the Diocesan House of the Clergy in Leiria-Fátima, in Fátima.
“A significant part of his priestly ministry was devoted to the development of studies related to the history and message left by Our Lady at Cova da Iria, making Father Luciano Cristino one of the prominent figures of Fátima,” stated the sanctuary in a publication on its website.
Luciano Coelho Cristino was born on September 26, 1938, in Maceirinha, municipality of Leiria.
He was ordained a priest on August 15, 1962, and that same year, he enrolled at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he earned degrees in Dogmatic Theology and Ecclesiastical History. During this time, he witnessed the opening of the Second Vatican Council and the election of Paul VI, the first Pope to visit Fátima.
The priest returned to Portugal in 1967, the year Pope Paul VI visited the Marian shrine. In subsequent years, he graduated in History from Coimbra, where he also completed a course in library and archival management, while simultaneously teaching there and at the Seminary of Leiria.
Upon the decision of the then Bishop of Leiria, João Pereira Venâncio, Luciano Coelho Cristino joined the sanctuary in 1974 to work on the systematic critical history of the apparitions and message of Fátima, collaborating with Father Joaquim Maria Alonso.
Two years later, he was appointed director of the Study and Dissemination Service, which he led for 37 years until 2013, remaining at the sanctuary as a chaplain thereafter.
Luciano Coelho Cristino was involved in the production of 16 volumes of the Critical Documentation of Fátima, as noted by the sanctuary.
On Saturday, a lauds prayer will be held at 09:00 at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, with the body present, followed by a funeral Mass at the Cathedral of Leiria at 12:00, presided over by the Bishop of Leiria-Fátima, José Ornelas.
Father Luciano Coelho Cristino will be buried in the Maceirinha cemetery.
In 1988, the Municipality of Leiria awarded the priest a municipal accolade in recognition of his work in historical dissemination, art history, ethnography, archaeology—especially of the Roman era—and popular religiosity.
