Video - Pilgrims Walking to Fatima Shrine

Here we are walking to the Fatima shrine -- I think this was the day we arrived with little to no sleep . . . but we're all excited to visit the Fatima sites!

Other Fatima Apparition Sites

While Our Lady of Fatima appeared to the three children primarily in what is now the Chapel of the Apparitions (in the Cova da Iria), she appeared to them in one other location in August 1917. In addition, the Angel of Peace appeared to the children in 1916 in a different location as well.

Valinhos

The Valinhos corresponds to the lands where the three shepherds traveled from their houses in Aljustrel to the Cova da Iria for the grazing of their flocks. It was in this area where two of the apparitions of the Angel of Peace occurred in 1916 and the fourth apparition of Our Lady of Fatima occurred in August of 1917.

On August 19, 1017, Our Lady appeared to the children for the fourth time at Valinhos. Coming to the children, shortly after they had been abducted and unjustly imprisoned in the nearby town of Ourem, the Blessed Virgin told the seers that they must continue going to the Cova da Iria on the 13th of each of the next two months.

Along the Path of the Little Shepherds (Caminho dos Pastorinhos), the site of the fourth apparition of Our Lady of Fatima to the children appears between the 8th and 9th stations of the Way of the Cross.

Caminho dos Pastorinhos 

(Path of the Little Shepherds)

Loca do Cabeço (Loca do Anjo)

The first (spring 1916) and third (autumn 1916) apparitions of the Angel of Peace to the children took place on a hill (Loca do Cabeço), a place of absolute seclusion, totally preserved, where olive trees and holm oaks grow. The site of these apparitions is also known as the Loca do Anjo (site or location of the Angel).

In her Memoirs, Sister Lucia describes how the Angel gave the children Holy Communion, and then kneeling with them, taught them this prayer: 

"Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I offer You the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the sacrileges, outrages, and indifference by which He Himself is offended. And through the infinite merits of His most Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg of You the conversion of poor sinners."

Note the Angel statue is offering Holy Communion to the children, depicting what really happened.

Poco do Arneiro (Arneiro Well)

The Arneiro well is located a few meters southeast of the House of Lucia. It belonged to Lucia's family and served as storage for rain water. At the time of the apparitions, there was no water supply system, and there was not much water in the area. It was here that the Angel of Peace appeared to the shepherd children for the second time in the summer of 1916. This is also where Jacinta had a vision of the Holy Father crying and praying on his knees in a big house.

Juan Carlos explains how cork is harvested

Walking the Path of the Little Shepherds

  

Another Depiction of the Angel of Peace 

with the three children

Parish Church in Fatima

Parish Church in Fatima -- Paróquia de Fátima e dos pastorinhos

Here are some photos of the parish church in Fatima where all three of the Fatima shepherds were baptized and Lucia received her First Holy Communion.

We weren't allowed to go in since it was undergoing repairs, but I did find a couple of photos online of the interior.

Parish Church

Parish Church 

(from the back)

Juan Carlos Tells Us about the Church

 

 Statue of Francisco Outside the Church

 Statue of Jacinta Outside the Church

Statue of Our Lady of Fatima Outside the Church

Church Interior

Baptismal Font 

(where the three children were baptized)

Parish Cemetery In Fatima (where Francisco and Jacinta were originally buried)

Parish Cemetery in Fatima (Original Burial Site for Francisco & Jacinta)

When the two Marto children died at ages 10 (Francisco - 1919) and 9 (Jacinta - 1920), they were buried in the parish cemetery.

Here are some photos of that cemetery . . . the children's remains were moved to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in Fatima in the early 1950's.

Parish Cemetery in Fatima

View of Cemetery and Parish Church in the Distance

 Overall View of Parish Cemetery

Juan Carlos Talks about the Original Graves

of Francisco and Jacinta Marto

Another View of the Graves

Another View of the Graves

 

Aljustrel, Portugal -- Houses Where Fatima Children Lived with House Museum

Houses of the Three Fatima Children and House Museum (Aljustrel, Portugal)

Lucia’s House

The house where Lucia de Jesus, the youngest of seven children, was born and lived is located in Aljustrel, about 2 kilometers away from the Shrine of Fatima. The first interrogations of the seers took place in this house. In the backyard, one can still see the fig trees under the shade of which the three little shepherds played and where they hid when sought by pilgrims or curious.

 In 1981, Sister Lucia donated the house to the Shrine; it only took possession of it in 1986. The area surrounding the house was arranged and was built a new information office, inaugurated on August 13, 1994.

Lucia's House

Stone Bench

Wash Basin

Courtyard Outside House

Lucia's Parents' Bedroom 

(where Lucia was born)

Lucia's Bedroom (shared with sisters)

Lucia's Bedroom

 House Museum of Aljustrel

The House Museum of Aljustrel is located next to Lucia’s birth house, in that small village called Aljustrel, about 2 kilometers away from the Shrine of Fatima. This first permanent Museological Centre of the Shrine was inaugurated on August 19, 1992, and is located in the house once owned by Maria Rosa, baptism godmother of Lucia. It is divided in four sections which allow us to understand the daily life back to the period of time of the apparitions. This conception was produced by Joaquim Roque Abrantes, Manuel Serafim Pinto and Maria Palmira Carvalho, who have taken as a starting point to accomplish such a task the entire inventory gathered years before by Francisco Pereira de Oliveira.

Jacinta and Francisco’s House

It was in this house, located at 2 kilometers away from the Shrine of Fatima, in the village of Aljustrel, that Blessed Francisco and Jacinta were born, the two youngest children of the family Marto. It was here that Our Lady appeared four times, three times to Jacinta and once to Jacinta and Francisco.

This house is 200 meters away from Lucia’s. It was acquired by the Shrine in November 1996, and later rebuilt.

Francisco and Jacinta's House

Francisco's Bedroom 

(where he died on April 4, 1919)

Jacinta's Bedroom

Fatima Shrine Plaza

Here are some additional photos of the Fatima Shrine Plaza . . .

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at Night

Chapel of the Apparitions

People Walking on Their Knees to the Chapel of the Apparitions

View of the Tall Bronze Crucifix and the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity

Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity - Fatima

While in Fatima, we also visited the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity. The basilica is situated within the enclosure of the Sanctuary of Fatima, on the opposite side of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary. The cornerstone of the church comes from a marble fragment of St. Peter's tomb, located under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

The church is a modern, round, white building. The color of the stone that covers it is a local stone known as "white of the sea." It seats close to 9,000 people. Surrounding the structure are 26-foot lateral doors in bronze, each dedicated to one of the 12 apostles of Christ.

This basilica definitely has a different look and feel in comparison to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, which is more traditional in its architecture and layout.

Upon entering the assembly area and looking towards the altar, you'll see a large crucifix and a large panel in mosaic representing the "Heavenly Jerusalem."

Outside the basilica, there is a large bronze statue of Pope St. John Paul II and a 34-meter high bronze cross.

Plaza Outside Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity

Mysteries of the Rosary

Mysteries of the Rosary

Bronze Door Dedicated to St. Matthew

Bronze Door Dedicated to St. Peter

Crucifix Above Altar

Looking Towards the Altar

Mosaic Behind Altar on the Right

Mosaic Behind Altar on the Left

Bronze Statue of Pope St. John Paul II in Plaza

110-Foot High Bronze Crucifix in Plaza