We headed to Fatima in the late afternoon and arrived there in the early evening. I felt that this was the real start of our pilgrimage.
Fatima is one of the major Marian shrines visited by Catholics worldwide. For those who are not familiar with it, this unassuming place is where Mary, the Mother of Christ, appeared to children tending sheep and brought messages of faith, hope, and peace.
Our Tour Director did not need to announce our arrival. From a distance, we saw the towers of the church and at the city centre, there was a roundabout with statues of the three shepherd children looking up to the heavens.
Fatima is located in the Portuguese Centro Region. Until 1917, when the Marian apparitions occurred in the Cova da Iria, it was an unknown village engaged primarily in shepherding and agriculture. Its fame rose when news of the Virgin Mary appearing before Lucia and her two younger cousins, Francisco and Jacinta, between May 13 and October 13, 1917 spread.
At a time of war, conflict, and bloodshed all over Europe, her words of peace, prayer, and reparation resonated with the faithful. When the apparitions were recognized by the Catholic Church, it became a popular pilgrimage destination.
The construction of the sanctuary brought local development to the region, but it remains a quiet little place. Despite the establishment of tourist-friendly services and the improvement of modern amenities, it retains its small-town atmosphere.
Every year, Fatima welcomes millions of pilgrims and tourists all over the world. Each day at the shrine, Masses, Rosaries, novenas, and prayers are held from morning to nighttime.
The plan was to have some time to rest after hotel check-in, meet at the restaurant for dinner, then join the recitation of the Rosary and the candlelight procession at Our Lady of Fatima Basilica at 9:30 that night.
I spent my free time at the souvenir shop on the hotel’s first floor. The shop mainly sold religious items. I bought rosaries and prayer books for family and friends and got the chance to practice my very limited Portuguese with the sales clerks. They told me I spoke well. To be honest, I had only memorized about a dozen basic phrases in Portuguese (please, thank you, welcome, good morning, good afternoon, good evening, how much is this, where can I find this, see you tomorrow, this is very good, etc.). But since I had a background in Spanish and my mother tongue has sounds similar to those of the Spanish language, my Portuguese pronunciation was quite good, they said. I am not sure if this was the reason why they gave me a good discount and even offered to shorten a Rosary bracelet, which was too big for me, for free. Or it could be that they were just really nice and accommodating. I found the Portuguese people generally warm and friendly.
After a hearty seafood buffet dinner, I walked with my amigas to the sanctuary. Our hotel was only fifteen minutes away and the night was cool and breezy, so we took our time.
A huge crowd was already gathered at the Chapel of Apparitions when we arrived. This is considered the very heart of the sanctuary, the first edifice constructed in the Cova da Iria, at the place of Our Lady’s apparitions. This was also where everybody would be praying the Rosary together. We took our positions at the back. I focused my attention on the statue of Our Lady standing on a marble pillar, which marks the exact spot where she appeared to the children.
The prayer session commenced with the singing of Marian hymns, an introduction, and a blessing by the priests. The Rosary was led by various visiting groups and each decade was recited in a different language – for that night, English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese.
It was a very stirring moment. As the prayer leaders chanted their part in their designated language, the crowd answered in unison, with each participant responding in his own language, but all of us coming together as one big community, praying for the same intentions and lifting up our hearts together in a single voice. It was indescribable. We were a congregation bound by faith, any kind of barrier obliterated by our collective profession of hope for the world and love for our fellowmen. We sat, stood, and knelt down together in the dimly-lit chapel, with the stars above our heads and the glow from the candles radiating faintly in the darkness.
After the recitation of the Rosary, the priests and altar servers carried the bier with the Virgin Mary over their shoulders along the aisle towards the entrance of the chapel to begin the candlelight procession. We all followed behind, forming two rows. The familiar notes of the Ave Maria permeated the air as the song resonated from the sound system and our voices blended with the solemn recorded rendition of angelic voices. The dim night sky was illuminated by the glow of the moon, the twinkling of the stars, and the sparkle of flames from our candles. Hymns and prayers along with faint flickers of light against the misty shadows of the night make for a truly ethereal experience.
We circled the square twice before going back to the chapel where the Virgin Mary was enthroned once more and we received our final blessing. We left our lit candles outside the chapel along with our prayer intentions before we walked back to the hotel in silence. My amigas and I, no doubt, were each contemplating on our experience that night.
Photo Credits:
wikiwand.com, Santos (Pinterest), pilgrim-info.com
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