BASILICA NOSSA SENHORA ROSÁRIO DE FÁTIMA

The location was not chosen at random: it is the place where, on May 13, 1917, three young shepherds, busy building a small wall, were surprised by a lightning strike. Its violence frightened them so much that they gathered their herd and sought shelter. The Dutch architect Gerard Van Kriechen was responsible for the construction of this immense basilica, which took more than 26 years to complete (from 1928 to 1953). The work was later taken over by João Antunes. It was not until the end of the construction that the title of "Basilica" was officially granted by Pope Pius XII, in November 1954.

This gigantic neo-baroque building - more than 70 meters long and 37 meters wide - has 15 marble altars dedicated to the 15 mysteries of the rosary and a central tower 65 meters high topped by a bronze crown weighing 7 tons. The luminous cross installed on the tower illuminates the immense enclosure and is visible from a great distance at nightfall. The carillon is composed of 65 bells, the largest of which weighs 3 tons. The clock is the work of Bento Rodrigues and the angels on the façade were carved in marble by the sculptor Albano França. Finally, the magnificent organ of the basilica was built and installed by the organ builder Fratelli Rufatti in 1952. Initially composed of five separate bodies (totaling about 12,000 pipes, the largest measuring 11 meters and the smallest 9 millimeters!), they were reunited ten years later, in 1962, and are now operated by five keyboards and pedalboards.

The square, one of the largest in the world, is the scene of torchlight processions every evening (at 9:30 pm). This experience is very moving and deserves an evening.

Nearly 6 million pilgrims pass through here each year. The tombs of the three little shepherds who saw the apparition of the Virgin Mary are particularly visited there. Francisco and Jacinta died of the Spanish flu at the age of 10 and 11, while Lucia entered the convent of Coimbra and died in 2005 at the age of 97. She was buried in the convent of Coimbra since 2006. A statue of the Virgin Mary, called "Statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary", carved by Father Thomas McGlynn according to the indications of Sister Lucia, can be admired in the niche of the façade of the Basilica since June 13, 1959.