Sanctuary of Fátima

Image: Wikimedia Commons

At the Cova da Iria in Portugal, where in 1917 Our Lady appeared six times to three shepherd children, Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta, asking for prayer and the daily rosary, the Sanctuary of Fátima has become one of the greatest Marian shrines in the world, drawing millions of pilgrims each year. The Chapel of the Apparitions, built in 1919 on the very spot of the visions, is its heart, while the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary shelters the tombs of the three little seers, Francisco and Jacinta having been canonized by Pope Francis in 2017. John Paul II attributed to Our Lady of Fátima his survival of the 1981 attempt on his life, and on 22 August, feast of the Queenship of Mary, the Church salutes the Queen whom Fátima honours.