First stop on our trip today was to Fatima. If my wife had her way we would be here all day. This…read moresite is an approved site by the Catholic Church of an apparition of the Virgin Mary & World renown as a site that millions of people make a pilgrimage to each year to pay homage to
Fatima is one of the most important Marian sanctuaries in the world and a major international destination for religious tourism, receiving six million visitors a year. Millions of people make a pilgrimage to the location traveling great distances. Our driver said his wife along w/20 people make the 150 kilometer trek to Fatima every yearn and sleep by the roadside each evening until they reach their destination. Once they reach the chapel they crawl around it on their knees.
On the 13th May 1917, Lúcia and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco, aged 12, 9 and 7 years old, were herding sheep at Cova da Iria - Fátima, when they saw a bright light near the tree. For 6 months from May 13th to Oct 13th the apperition reappeared. At first the towns people thought the kids were crazy until they started seeing the apparition.
Today millions of people come to Fatima each year