In the hills of central Portugal, the town of Fátima has grown around one of the most important Marian shrines in the Catholic world. Each year millions of pilgrims travel to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima, drawn by the account of apparitions of the Virgin Mary to three young shepherd children in 1917, and by the vast esplanade where the faithful gather to pray.
The Apparitions of 1917
According to the traditional account, in 1917 the Virgin Mary appeared six times to three shepherd children – Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta – in a field called the Cova da Iria. The children said the lady asked them to pray the rosary for peace, in the midst of the First World War. The events culminated on 13 October 1917, when a large crowd reported witnessing an extraordinary solar phenomenon, often called the “Miracle of the Sun.” The Catholic Church later recognised the apparitions as worthy of belief.
The Chapel of the Apparitions
At the very spot of the apparitions stands the small Chapel of the Apparitions (Capelinha), the devotional heart of the sanctuary. Pilgrims gather here for Mass and prayer, and a statue of Our Lady of Fátima marks the place. Many approach across the great square on their knees as an act of devotion, a striking sight for first-time visitors.
The Basilicas and the Esplanade
The older Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, with its tall central tower and curving colonnade, looks out over an enormous esplanade larger than St Peter’s Square in Rome, built to hold the immense crowds. Facing it across the square is the strikingly modern Basilica of the Holy Trinity, completed in 2007, one of the largest churches in the world. Within the older basilica lie the tombs of the three shepherd children, two of whom have been declared saints.
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