Fátima is a small town in central Portugal of about 13,000 inhabitants, in the municipality of Ourém and the district of Santarém, about 130 kilometres north of Lisbon and 190 south of Porto. It is known worldwide for the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima, one of the most important Marian pilgrimage sites, linked to the apparitions of the Virgin to three shepherd children in 1917 and to the famous Secrets of Fátima.
The name and the history
The name dates from the Moorish era: according to legend it comes from a Moorish princess, Fatima, captured in the twelfth century by a Christian knight, converted and married to the Count of Ourém. Until 1917 Fátima was a remote country village. Between 13 May and 13 October of that year, at a place called Cova da Iria, three children, Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, said they saw the Virgin Mary six times, always on the 13th of the month. The last apparition was accompanied by the so-called "miracle of the sun", witnessed by tens of thousands of people.
Francisco and Jacinta died a few years later during the Spanish flu epidemic and were canonised by Pope Francis in 2017, the centenary of the apparitions. Lúcia became a Carmelite nun and died in 2005. Because of its international importance, Fátima was granted city status in 1997.
The Sanctuary
The heart of the sanctuary is the Capelinha das Aparições, the Little Chapel of the Apparitions built on the exact spot, which houses the statue of the Virgin: set in her crown is the bullet that wounded Pope John Paul II in the assassination attempt of 13 May 1981, which he donated to the shrine.
The vast esplanade, the Recinto de Oração, is about twice the size of St Peter's Square and can hold hundreds of thousands of people. On its north side stands the neoclassical Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, with a 65-metre tower and a colonnade embracing the square: the three seers are buried here. On the opposite side is the modern Basilica of the Holy Trinity, opened in 2007, one of the largest churches in the world, with almost nine thousand seats.
Aljustrel, Valinhos and the Way of the Cross
About two kilometres from the sanctuary is the hamlet of Aljustrel, where you can visit the birthplaces of the three children, preserved with their original furnishings. Nearby, at Valinhos, a monument marks the fourth apparition, in August 1917, while the Loca do Cabeço is where the children said they saw the Angel of Peace in 1916.
One of the most moving walks is the Via Sacra (Way of the Cross) from Aljustrel to Valinhos among ancient olive trees: fourteen small chapels mark the Stations of the Cross and a fifteenth, devoted to the Resurrection, stands beside the chapel of Saint Stephen of Hungary. The chapels were donated by Hungarian Catholics in exile and built between 1964 and 1992.
Pilgrimages
The great international pilgrimages take place on 12 and 13 May and 12 and 13 October, the anniversaries of the first and last apparitions, but on the 13th of every month from May to October the sanctuary fills with the faithful. Many arrive on foot, walking hundreds of kilometres along the Fátima Ways. In the evening the candlelight procession on the esplanade is deeply moving even for non-believers.
Surroundings and getting there
Fátima is a good base for some of central Portugal's wonders: the Batalha Monastery and Alcobaça Monastery, both UNESCO sites, the Convent of Christ in Tomar, the Mira de Aire caves, Ourém castle and the seaside town of Nazaré, famous for its giant waves. Nearby Leiria and Coimbra are a short drive away.
From Lisbon the easiest way is the bus (about an hour and a half) from Sete Rios station; the nearest railway station is Fátima (Chão de Maçãs), about twenty kilometres away, linked to the sanctuary by bus and taxi. By car, take the A1 motorway.