And the answer is…Famous Site known for a Miracle and Visited by Millions Annually

If Fatima was a category on Jeopardy we might have missed the “What country is it located in? ” question, but it’s in Portugal. We are in Portugal. How could we not take a day for a Pilgrimage? So we say a prayer that we can navigate the Portuguese bus system and make our way out of Lisbon to Fatima.

In fairness, we split the difference on how personally, religiously important this day was to each of us, yet regardless of your belief or devotion to Mary there is power in the collective coming together of so many people  that was palpable throughout the day.

The town of Fatima is small and feels like a little village that has experienced a miracle. The hotels (Alelluia Hotel,Hotel Santa Maria, São José Hotel, etc) and restaurants, are  modest as the draw is the shrine itself.

As you enter the grounds, the Basílica of the Holy Trinity, a modern round, white concrete building sits behind the Fatima Pope Square. This is a newer building to accommodate the throngs of pilgrims visiting. The gold tile wall holds the immense crucifix of a Jesus whose outstretched arms on the cross appear to be beckoning souls for an embrace. It is a provocative piece. The church can seat over three thousand people. Mass begins by welcoming people in many languages, indicative of the world wide draw to this place.

Leaving this basilica, you enter the expansive square with a view to th Basilica of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. The square in Fatima is twice the size of St. Peter’s square at the Vatican.

This basilica reaches to the heavens with a statue of Mary and her heavenly crown at the pinnacle glistening in the golden sun.

Inside the basilllica are the tombs of the children, two of whom died as prophesied as young children during the Spanish Flu pandemic. They were canonized as saints in 2017. Lucia, lived to adulthood, becoming a nun. She has since died and had been beatified, an early step in the process of being vetted for sainthood. On the walls of their tombs, the simply beautiful statuary hangs reminding all of their innocence and youth.

While our visit was not on one of the days of an Apparition ( May 13, and the subsequent 5 (13th day of each month) when colossal size crowds flock to this site, there are still many visitors and many opportunities to participate in prayer, adoration, petition, repetentence. Communal recitation of the Holy Rosary in the Chapel of the Apparitions ( the site the three shephard children reported seeing the beautiful lady and eventually receiving her messages) is very moving. The chapel, open air on three sides allows for the overflow of visitors to gather for the prayer. The two main basilicas alternate as the site for Mass, each filling with thousands to receive the Eurcharist several times throughout the day. Additional devotions such as the Way of the Cross,process-through the square to commemorate the Passion of Christ .

A marble path that cuts along the square leading to the chapel sees many faithful processing forward on their knees lost in prayer.

The Catholic tradition of lighting a candle for devotion, healing, etc is taken to a new level in Fatima and perhaps illustrated the spectrum and intensity of those visiting. An area near the chapel where flames leapt up from huge cauldrens and the scent of candle wax moved in waves through the air.

A line of people carrying candles of all sizes, some by the arm full, wound down and around for hours on end. On closer inspection not only were there traditional candles, but also wax shapes of body parts to be healed, babies to be prayed for, and other wax representations that were tossed into the flames.

A visit to this shrine allows each person to experience it to their own depth of openness and understanding. The troubles of the world at the time of the first apparition during World War l and the prophecies foretold bear out over time yet mirror the troubles in the world today. A need to pray and to seek peace and goodness is a message for our time.The day was clear and warm, and filled with peace. If you are in “Jeopardy”… the question to the answer is “What is Fatima?”