Fátima is the city of one of the most known and visited religious places in the whole world, the Sanctuary of Our Lady da Fátima. The city has approximately 8 000 inhabitants and several convents for pilgrims. Every day, but especially Sunday, all year round, thousands of pilgrims arrive there, to pray to "Our Lady". Every 13th of the month, from May till October, date of the first and last apparitions, the believers arrive by hundreds of thousands.
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On May 13th, 1917, three shepherds, Lúcia, Francisco, and Jacinta, had a vision of a "lady brighter than the sun" on an oak tree, that spoke to them. The last appearance, on October 13th, ended with the "sun miracle" which more than 70 000 saw: the rain stopped and the sun began to shine and swirl in the sky like a ball of fire. The Virgin asked the children to pray for peace in the world. Europe was at war and Portugal participated in the allied ranks. Fátima received several visits from the Pope, the last one took place in 2000 when Jean Paul II came, for the third time, for Francisco and Jacinta's sanctification.
To see :
- Basilica
Begun in 1928 and dedicated in 1953, dominated by a 65 m tower. Inside you will find Francisco's and Jacinta's graves, Francisco died in 1919 and Jacinta died in 1920. The elder sister, Lúcia, was in the Carmelite monastery of Coimbra when she died in 2005. In the church, the stained glass represents scenes from the appearances and the invocations of Our Lady's Litany.
- Esplanade
A really big square 540 m x 160 m which can receive up to 300 000 pilgrims. It has a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the middle and on the North side, there is the direction management office where you can inquire about all the things there are to see at the Sanctuary: pilgrimages, schedules of masses and general information .
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Basilica |
Chapel of Apparitions |
- Chapel of Apparitions
The true heart of the sanctuary. The exact place where the Virgin appeared to the children is marked by a marble column on which is placed a statue of the Virgin. It was built in 1919.
- The big holmoak, under which the herdsmen and the pilgrims waited, while praying with their rosary, for the arrival of Our Lady.
- The Berlin Wall on the South side at the entrance of the Sanctuary. It was created in recognition of God's will for the fall of communism, a promise made by the Virgin for Fátima on that spot.
- The High Cross at the top of the surrounding wall, on the South side, it commemorates the closing of the Holy Year in 1951.
Next to the Sanctuary there is also the retirement home of Our Lady of the Carmel Mount, Pope Jean Paul VI monument, Pope Pie XII monument, Paul VI pastoral centre, and the orphanage of Our Lady of Pain, etc...
In one of the main streets, you will find a Waxwork museum which redraws the history of the apparitions, a Sacred Art Museum and also the parochial church where the visionaries were baptized.
3 km from the Sanctuary, after crossing the South round-about, you arrive at Aljustrel where you can visit both houses where the children lived, an Ethnographical Museum near Lucia's house, and, a little farther, in Valinhos, where the 4th apparition of Our Lady took place in august on the Cross and Calvary trail. The Holy Way begins at the round-about and follows the road which the children took to go from Aljustrel to Cova da Iria, name of the place where the Sanctuary is.
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Parochial Church |
