Portuguese Fatima is one of the most well-known pilgrimage destinations for pilgrims from around the world. Annually, their number can reach up to eight million! What happened in Fatima? In this famous town, several Church-recognized Marian apparitions took place.
One of the most famous apparitions occurred in 1917. Three children, who were shepherds, claimed that the Virgin Mary appeared to them and revealed three secrets of Fatima. Two of them were disclosed in 1941, while the third was revealed only in 2000.
What is worth seeing in Fatima? There are several places you shouldn’t miss, so take advantage of my list of the most interesting and well-known attractions!
Table of Contents
Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was built in 1928 in the village of Cova Da Iria. It features a neo-baroque style and stands exactly where the shepherd children were playing when they saw a flash in the sky on May 13, 1917. The children, thinking it was a storm, gathered their flock of sheep and headed home. That’s when the Virgin Mary appeared to them.
The first stone for the construction of the basilica was blessed by Archbishop Évora, Manuel da Conceição Santos, in 1928, and its consecration took place on October 7, 1953. In 1954, Pope Pius XII conferred the title of a minor basilica on the church.
A few years later, a large statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was inaugurated, sculpted by Father Thomas McGlynn at the request of one of the Fatima Children, namely Sister Lucia, who did not die in childhood like the other two. The statue is 4.73 meters tall and weighs 13 tons! The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary is worth visiting for its impressive architecture and beautiful reliefs. It also houses charming stained glass windows depicting the history of the Marian apparitions in Fatima, as well as a painting in the sanctuary.
Tombs of the Fatima Children
The graves of the Fatima children are located in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. This place is exceptionally crowded with pilgrims. The tombs of Blessed Jacinta, Blessed Francisco, and Sister Lucia are simple but adorned with colorful flowers brought by visitors. Inside, you can see sculptures depicting the Fatima Children. Entrance to the chapel area is free.
Chapel of the Apparitions
The Chapel of the Apparitions is a small chapel located in Cova da Iria in Fatima, within the Sanctuary of Fatima. It is small and modest, built in a rectangular plan and covered with a gabled roof. Its facade and walls are whitewashed. Inside, a simple, arched portal leads to the altar, pulpit, and benches.
The pedestal on which the original statue of Our Lady of Fatima stands marks the exact spot where on May 13, June, July, September, and October 1917, the Virgin Mary appeared to the Fatima Children.
The golden crown of the statue was offered by a group of Portuguese women in 1942 as a thanksgiving gesture for Portugal not participating in World War II. The crown was crafted for free by 12 craftsmen from Leitão and Irmão in Lisbon over three months. It weighs 1200 grams and contains 313 pearls and 2679 precious stones!
Basilica of the Holy Trinity
The Basilica of the Holy Trinity is a Roman Catholic church located in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima, built between 2004 and 2007. It is the fourth largest church in the world, and its construction cost a whopping 80 million euros! Every cent of this amount was collected from pilgrim donations.
Interestingly, Pope John Paul II offered and blessed the first stone for the church’s construction in 2004 – it was a fragment of the marble tomb of St. Peter, located in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican. This was a symbolic gesture, and visitors to Fatima can still see this stone in a showcase during their tour.
The church is dedicated to the Holy Trinity and is so large that it can accommodate 9000 people. The interiors combine simplicity with golden, ornate elements. The church has three separate chapels.
Museum of the Sanctuary of Fatima
The Museum of the Sanctuary of Fatima was opened to the public in 1955 and features two permanent exhibitions. The first one is called “Fatima Light and Peace” (Fátima Luz e Paz) and presents the most important exhibits related to the Fatima apparitions and pilgrimages.
Among them, you can see a 17th-century figure of Christ, liturgical robes of popes, and golden jewelry donated by pilgrims. The museum also houses a sphere that was used by the assailant Ali Agca to wound Pope John Paul II in 1981. The second exhibition is the house-museum in Aljustrel, described below!
The museum with the main exhibition is open from Tuesday to Saturday, from 9 am to 12 pm and from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm. On Sundays, church holidays, and public holidays, it can be visited from 9 am to 12 pm and from 2:30 pm to 4:30 pm.
More information on the museum’s official website
Houses of the Fatima Children
The houses where the children of Fatima were born and lived are located in the village of Aljustrel, two kilometers away from the Sanctuary of Fatima. In one of them, the youngest children in the Marto family, Francisco and Jacinta, lived, while in the other, just two hundred meters away, lived Lucia from the dos Santos family.
In 1981, Sister Lucia donated the house to the Sanctuary of Fatima, which finally took it over in 1986. The area surrounding the building was arranged, and in 1994, an Information Point for Pilgrims was established. Near the houses, there is also a historic well – a place of one of the visions – and a small museum where you can see how life looked in those years.
Accommodations in Fatima
In Fatima you can find a variety of accommodation options to suit different needs and budgets. Numerous hotels and guesthouses offer rooms in attractive locations close to the Sanctuary. Due to Fatima’s popularity as a pilgrimage site, it is advisable to book accommodation in advance, especially during the summer season.
Whether you go to Fatima alone or on a pilgrimage, it is undoubtedly a place where you can feel extraordinary peace of mind and, at the same time, see locations that have forever marked the pages of history. Have you been to Fatima? Are you interested in places related to religious worship, or is it not often the goal of your travels? Let me know in the comments!
See also:
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