Fatima Tourist Attractions

On May 13, 1917, and again on the 13th of each subsequent month until October in that year, the "Virgin of the Rosary" is said to have appeared to the three peasant children, Lúcia de Jesús and Francisco and Jacinta Marto. At first skeptical about these visions, on the last appearance, October 13, 1917, the Church saw over 70,000 people making the pilgrimage to Fátima where they are supposed to have witnessed not only the appearance of the Virgin but also an amazing natural phenomenon. In the pouring rain the sun suddenly began to revolve on its axis and throw out multicolored rays of light. There were also a number of miraculous cures in the days that followed. The Church authorities investigated the incidents for several years before finally giving the Fátima cult of the Madonna the official seal of approval in 1930.Speculation continues to this day about the three "revelations" that the children who were seven, nine and ten at the time said had been vouchsafed them by the Virgin on July 13, 1917. The first two are public knowledge, the first being a description of "Hell", and the second prophesying a speedy end to the First World War, but also foretelling a dreadful war if the world did not cease offending God.The third prophesy was confided in writing to the Vatican in 1941 by Lúcia, who had entered a convent in 1928, but she also stipulated it should not be made public before 1960 and to date no Pope has unveiled the secret.

On the eve of the chief annual pilgrimages there are large torch light processions.

The esplanade that serves as the rallying point for the kneeling pilgrims is of huge proportions (150,000 sq.m/37 acres). It is dominated by the Neo Baroque Basilica, with its 65m/215ft high central tower. Building was begun on May 13, 1928 and it is flanked by colonnades linking it with the extensive conventual and hospital buildings. Inside the Basilica are the tombs of Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who died in 1919 and 1920 respectively. The place where the Virgin Mary is supposed to have appeared to the children in the branches of an oak in 1917 is marked by the little chapel of the apparitions, the Capela das Apariçôes, in front of the Cathedral. The first chapel built here in 1918 was later destroyed by an explosion.

A short distance east of the esplanade stands the Museum of Sacred Art and Ethnology. It tells the story of the Redemption by means of pictures, crucifixes, cribs and other exhibits. The ethnological department concerns itself with those cultures which influenced the Gospels.

West of the esplanade is a wax museum, the Museu de Cera de Fátima, opened in 1984 and depicting the miraculous events at Fátima in a series of 29 scenes.