Situated in a small city in Central Portugal is the fourth biggest Catholic pilgrimage site. Many pilgrims choose to walk here, often over great distances, to worship and pray at the shrine—you'll see them wearing yellow safety vests walking alongside the roads as you near Fatima. It's here in Fatima that apparitions of the Virgin Mary were said to have appeared to three children tending sheep in 1917.
The apparitions occurred six times during the year. The final time on October 17 some 50,000 people were present to witness an event known as the "Miracle of the Sun". So, there seems to be some corroboration to the sightings.
In summary, there were 3 predictions made during the appearances of the Virgin: 1) An end to the First World War was coming soon. 2) That two of the three of the original shepherd children would go to heaven soon (Francisco and Jacinto died within a few years during the Spanish flu epidemic). 3) The final prediction did not occur until Pope John Paul II was almost assassinated in 1981. There was a lot of skepticism surrounding these sightings, but in time it was accepted as a truth by the Church and its many believers. If you are interested in more information, I refer you to the Brittanica or Wikipedia pages which provide fairly detailed accounts.
(pilgrims approaching the Fatima shrine, on foot or on their knees)
The photo shown below is of a pilgrim approaching the Fatima shrine on his knees, with the Basilica of the Holy Trinity in the background. It was featured as last weekend's One Clue Photo. Congratulations to George G, the only who recognized where we were at.
The place of these apparitions today is a busy pilgrimage site. I'm not Catholic, so this was an interesting experience for me. The Fatima site covers many acres and has the capacity to hold thousands of people. More than six million visitors come to the site each year. Miracles occurring at Fatima have been reported.
(A portion of the Fatima shrine)
A very small chapel was built at the site in 1919, known as the Chapel of the Apparition's (built right where the three children had their visions).
(The Chapel of the Apparitions, photo courtesy János Korom and Wikimedia)
There are two larger churches at the site. The Sanctuary of the Lady of Fatima was built between 1928 and 1953. It has a tall tower (65 m) topped by a crown and a cross. The Sanctuary has the tombs of the three shepherd children who were present during all the apparitions.
(Sanctuary of the Lady of Fatima, including a few details)
We were there on a Sunday and masses were being held frequently throughout the day, precluding our visiting the Sanctuary church. I would have liked to have seen the interior, but it was not to be.
(Mass being held outside the Fatima Sanctuary Church)
(sprinkling Holy Water on the pilgrims)
At the opposite end of the square from the Sanctuary church is a modern Basilica (Basilica of the Holy Trinity, constructed between 2004-2007). It is a large facility with a seating capacity of 8633, making it the fourth biggest Catholic church in the world. It has received awards for its architecture.
(Basilica of the Holy Trinity, Fatima)
The interior of the Basilica is cavernous and very modern in its design and decorations.
There are several statues on the Fatima site which I found interesting. The most dominant of these is a large statue of Christ close to the Chapel of the Apparitions:
Several statues of popes affiliated with Fatima are also on display:
(Pope Pius XII granted the status of Basilica on Fatima)
(Pope Paul VI attended Fatima on the 50th Anniversary of the apparitions)
(Pope John Paul II visited Fatima twice)
Something I'd never seen before was the burning of candles. I'm not quite sure of the meaning of this, but people purchased candles of a variety of sizes (some almost 2 meters long) and threw them into the flames below. Apparently, the melted wax is collected, and new candles are made from it.
It was an interesting visit. I'm in admiration of people who have a deep religious faith and manifest it in a concrete way like making a difficult pilgrimage.
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