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 FATIMA
142 km (88 miles) North of Lisbon, Fatima is one of the most important shrines of the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary. This Sanctuary welcomes millions of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. The fame of this place is the result of the Apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary to three shepherd children Lucia and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta that, between May and October of 1917, witnessed successive apparitions. The last one, on October 13th, was confirmed by a miracle witnessed by 70,000 people "on the day the sun danced"
Chapel of Apparitions
The very heart of the Sanctuary. It was the first edifice constructed in the Cova da Iria, at the place of Our Lady's Apparitions.
The exact spot is marked by a marble pillar on which the Statue of Our Lady is placed. Here converge the four million pilgrims who visit the Sanctuary each year.
The Recint
On the colonnade in front of the Basilica, statues of four Portuguese Saints can be seen: St. John of God, St. John of Brito, St. Anthony and Bl. Nuno of Santa Maria. From one side to the other, from left to right, are the following saints: St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis de Sales, Bl. Marcelino de Champagnat, St. John Baptist de la Salle, St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, St. Jonh Bosco with St. Dominic Savio, St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Simon Stock, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Paul of the Cross and St. Beatrice da Silva. The white marble statue in the niche above the entrance to the Basilica, sculptured by Fr. Thomas McGlynn, OR, shows Our Lady in one of her apparitions when she urged devotion to her Immaculate Heart.
Basilica
Begun in 1928 and consecrated on 7 October 1953, its 15 altars are dedicated to the 15 mysteries of the Rosary. The painting above the high altar depicts the Message of Our Lady to the little shepherds, prepared by the Angel of Portugal, through their encounter with Christ in the Eucharist. The Bishop of the diocese is shown kneeling on the left side, and the figures of Pope Pius XII (who consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942, and whose Legate crowned the Statue of Our Lady in 1946), of Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. Scenes of the apparitions are represented in stained glass, as well as invocations from the Litany of Our Lady. In the four corners of the Basilica interior are placed the statues of the great apostles of the Rosary and of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: St. Anthony Claret, St. Dominic of Gusman, St. John Eudes and St. Stephen, King of Hungary. The tombs of Francisco and Jacinta are in the Basilica, and, in the chancel, are the mortal remains of D. Jose Alves Correia da Silva, first Bishop of Leiria after its restoration in 1920. The monumental organ, mounted in 1952, has about 12 thousand pipes.
Perpetual Adoration Chapel
Placed at the end of the colonnade, on the eastern side, this chapel for perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed, is a place of silent prayer and adoration
The Big Holmoak
Under which the little shepherds and the early pilgrims awaited Our Lady's coming, and prayed the Rosary.
Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Which stands in the centre of the square, over a spring found there, its waters being the instrument of many graces.
House of Our Lady Dolours
Situated behind the Chapel of Apparitions, it is destined to receive the Sick during the great pilgrimages, and also for retreats and accommodation for pilgrims in general.
Rectory
A building on the right side of the esplanade, in the House of Our Lady of Carmel.
House of Our Lady of Carmel
Which is above and behind the Rectory, with accommodation for 250
Berlin Wall
At the entrance of the Sanctuary, on the south side of the Rectory, one may visit a monument of the Berlin Wall's, consisting of a concrete segment that was part of it. (The Walls construction started during the night between the 12th. and 13th. of August, 1961 and its demolition began the 9th. of November, 1989) This segment was offered by means of Virgilio Casimiro Ferreira, a Portuguese emigrant to Germany and is here placed as a grateful memorial of God's intervention for the fall of Communism as promised at Fatima. The segment weighs 2,600 kilos (5,732 lbs.) and measures 3.60 meters (11 ft. 9 in.) high by 1.20 meters (3 ft. in.) wide. The present monument was designed by the architect J. Carlos Loureiro and was inaugurated on the 13th. of August, 1994.
Via Sacre
The Holy Way is composed of 14 little chapels in memory of the Passion of Our Lord. and a 15th corresponding to the Resurrection Beneath the Calvary there is a Chapel dedicated to St Stephen of Hungary. The first 14 Stations were offered by Catholic Hungarian refugees in western countries, and were inaugurated on 12 May 1964: the 15th on 13 October 1992, in the presence of the Ambassador of Hungary, the country now liberated from Communism The Holly Way begins at the south Rotunda of Saint Teresa, and follows the path which the little shepherds took when going from Aljustrel to the Cova da Iria.
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