Sanctuary of Fátima

On our travels through Portugal, I wanted to visit the Shrine of Fátima. Having grown up Catholic, I couldn’t be this close and not make the journey to a place I had heard about since childhood. Fátima is one of the most important Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the world, with millions of people traveling here to pray, worship and experience the sanctuary for themselves.

The story of Fátima began in 1917, when three young shepherd children: Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, reported a series of apparitions of the Virgin Mary. Beginning on May 13 and continuing over several months, the events drew increasing numbers of people to this once-quiet part of Portugal. The final reported apparition, on October 13, was witnessed by a vast crowd and became associated with what is known as the “Miracle of the Sun”.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, with its distinctive bell tower seen in this photograph, was begun in 1928 and eventually became one of the focal points of the sanctuary. The three children are buried within the basilica, forever connecting this impressive structure with the humble beginnings of the Fátima story.

What struck me about visiting Fátima was that this was not simply a historic religious site. It remains very much a place of active faith. Pilgrims arrive from countries around the world, some as part of organized groups and others making a very personal journey. Masses, processions and prayer continue to fill the enormous sanctuary, particularly around the anniversaries of the apparitions.

For me, visiting Fátima connected the places we were exploring in Portugal with something much more personal. I had known the name Fátima for most of my life. Now I was standing in the place itself, among the pilgrims who continue to come here more than a century after three children reported an extraordinary experience in the Portuguese countryside.