Fatima, Portugal, a
village in the litoral of the Beira region, was a poor, depressed rural
area where the economy was one of mere survival. From this situation
it was quickly converted into the centre of a great sanctuary of pilgrimage,
one of the most important ones in all of Europe. All this is due to
the appearance of the Virgen Mary or also referred to as the marian
apparitions and who is lovingly called Our Lady of Fatima.
Fatima Portugal and its surprising history
The history
of Our Lady of Fatima is surprising and sometimes thought
of as frightening. In a place called the Cova de Iria ( Iria Cove
) on May 13th 1917, the Virgen Mary appeared near an oak tree in
front of three young shepard children who lived in the village called
Aljustrel. The marian apparitions happened on the same day of each
month during the next five months. Lucia de Jesus, a 10 year old
girl, Francisco Marto, a 9 year old boy and his sister Jacinta Marto,
7, received a mysterious message from the Virgin Mary. This message
said that the conversion of the Soviet Union to Catholism could avoid
a world war with devastating effects. In the following years, the
political opening up of the Soviet union to the free market, the
demolishing of the Berlin Wall and the return of the countries pertaining
to the eastern Block to a parlamnetary system were the events most
commented on, all of which coincided with the wise advice of the
marian apparitions.
The name Fatima,
of Arab origin, is a peculiar history relating to Fatima. The legend
says that the founder of the parish was a Templar Knight who was
in love with a young Muslim girl, having the same name as the daughter
of the Prophet.
Believe it or
not, Fatima is there
The first sanctuary which was erected in Fatima, Portugal after
the marian apparitions was a chapel called Nossa Senhora ( Our Lady
), where a sculpted image of the Virgin was installed, according
to the description of Lucia. A bomb destroyed this simple oratoy
in 1922, a that same year a new chapel was set in the place where
the marian apparitions really happened. Six years later, in 1928,
the Basilica del Rosario was constructed. And since then, Fatima
and its history has been transformed into sacred grounds for worship
to Our Lady of Fatima. There are around 10 seminaries and more than
70 religious buildings belonging to different religious orders and
institutions.
Pope John Paul
II wanted to be present on May 13th, 2001, exactly 20 years after
he had been shot by a Turkist terrorist. This pitiful event was
the third secret of
Fatima had revealed to the young shepards,
having taken place on May 13th.
The Basilica del Rosario has colossal dimensions. It measures 69
x 30 metres with a central tower that rises 65 metres high. The square
that opens up in front of the Basilica and the columns were done
by different architects. Inside lay three shepards, two having died
at a very early age and Lucia, who became a nun and has recently
died. In this same square there is a marked path leading to a little
chapel, and as penitence, is usually down knelt down, walking on
your knees until you reach there.
There are a series of religious museums, each one telling this incredible
miracle. Not too far away, heading towards Sintra outside of Lisbon,
you come across Obidos, a walled in city, many times referred to
as the silhouette of a ship. There is a curious temple of Barrocco
style converted into the Sanctuary of Our Lord Jesus of the Stone
where a very antiquated stone cross lies, with an etching representing
a caveman like figure. This and the church of Saint John Baptist
are also places of worship like the wonderful Our Lady of Fatima,
Portugal.
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