Fatima

Fatima

The Basilica in Fátima forms the centre piece of the Fátima Sanctuary complex. The shrine is set in what was initially a small village no one had really heard of. The one day three shepherd children claimed to have had visions of "Our Lady" and things took off from there. Declared a miracle the site became a major pilgrimage centre in the catholic world, with the most dedicated making the journey here on their knees - including the stone steps of the basilica.

The site here is huge; the basilica tower reaches up 65 metres and the square in front is bigger than St Peter's in the Vatican.

Sadly, two of children died a couple of years later in the Spanish flu pandemic which swept the world in 1919.

Fátima

Fátima travel guide »

Once a tiny village in the hills of Santarém between Lisbon and Oporto, Fátima is now town of around 10,000 people globally renowned for the religious visions which...