SANCTUAIRE DE FÁTIMA

The site is located at the place called Cova da Irian. There are three buildings and a Way of the Cross on either side of a huge esplanade.

Chapel of the Apparitions. It was built in 1919 at the place where the Virgin appeared six times (May 13, June 13, July 13, August 19, September 13 and October 13, 1917) to three little shepherds: Jacinta, Francisco and Lucia. The marble column outside, surmounted by the Sacred Heart of Jesus, symbolizes the exact location of the apparitions, where there was previously an oak tree. Several other apparitions in nearby places are also reported by the Church in 1915, 1916 and between 1921 and 1929.

Basilica of Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima. Its construction lasted from 1928 to 1953. This gigantic neo-baroque building - over 70 metres long and 37 metres wide - has 15 marble altars dedicated to the 15 mysteries of the Rosary and a central tower 65 metres high topped by a 7-ton bronze crown. Francisco and Jacinta died of Spanish flu at the ages of 10 and 11 and are buried in the basilica. Lucia entered holy orders and died in 2005 at the age of 97. She is buried in the convent in Coimbra. A statue of the Virgin Mary, called "Statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary", carved according to the indications of Sister Lucia, has been installed in the niche of the façade of the basilica since 1959.

Basilica of Santíssima Trindade. Inaugurated in 2007 for the 90th anniversary of the apparitions, this circular church is located opposite the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, on the opposite side of the square. Very modern, it has clean architectural lines: it has no interior pillars but rests on two large transverse beams. In the basement, there are several chapels with minimalist decoration and mosaics by contemporary Portuguese artists along the outside walls.

The site of Fatima welcomes more than 6 million visitors each year. The biggest events take place on 13 May (with a large torchlight procession on the evening of 12 May) and 13 October. Between these two dates, all the 13th days are days of devotion and correspond to the dates of the apparitions (except for the 13th of August). For the believers, the apparition of August 19, 1917 instead of the 13th of the same month is explained by the fact that the children had been retained on this August 13th by the authorities to avoid any disturbance of the public order.

It is possible to visit the houses where the children lived in the nearby village of Aljustrel.