October 21, 2005

Shrine of Fatima is spiritual heart of Portugal

Andy Telli, Tennessee Register

(Photos at end of story)

FATIMA, PORTUGAL. Fatima is at the heart of Portugal, both its geography and its spirituality.

In 1917, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three children tending their sheep on a rocky hillside in Fatima to tell them the world must pray for the conversion of sinners and for peace.

Ever since, Fatima has drawn millions of pilgrims a year from throughout Portugal and from around the world to answer the Blessed Mother’s call for prayer, especially to pray the Rosary.

The apparition and the pilgrims it attracts dominate Fatima and the surrounding towns. But Fatima is not the only jewel Portugal offers to tourists, whether it’s cosmopolitan, modern cities like Lisbon, or scenic seaside fishing villages like Nazaré, or medieval walled cities like Óbidos, or centuries-old monasteries like the one at Batalha.

Portugal is small enough that all these sites are only a few-hours drive from Fatima.

Region Tours, a leading Catholic tour company based in New York, the tourism office of Portugal, and TAP Air Portugal recently sponsored a familiarization tour of Fatima and other sites for representatives of the Catholic press in the United States. Here are some of the highlights of the trip:

Fatima

This small village is dominated by prayer. From morning into the night, pilgrims are praying, whether it’s during Masses at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, or saying the Rosary at the Apparition Chapel, or in the Sacrament of Reconciliation that is available in several languages throughout the day, or in private prayers walking the grounds of the Shrine.

It was prayers that the Blessed Virgin Mary asked for when she appeared to Lucia de Jesus, 10, and her cousins, Francisco, 9, and Jacinta Marto, 7, as they tended their sheep. She first appeared to the children, affectionately called The Little Shepherds by the Portuguese, on May 13, 1917, as the countries of Europe, including Portugal, were convulsed by World War I. She appeared to the children monthly through October of that year.

Francisco and Jacinta died a few years after the apparition, but Lucia, who became a Carmelite nun, died earlier this year. Francisco and Jacinta were beatified in 2002 and they are both buried in the Basilica at the Shrine, their tombs a popular site for pilgrims to visit to offer a prayer. Sister Lucia’s body will be moved to a tomb at the Basilica in the spring of 2006.

Construction of the large Basilica atop a hill overlooking the Apparition Chapel was begun in 1928 and completed in 1953. The 15 altars of the Basilica are dedicated to the 15 mysteries of the Rosary.

At the opposite end of the esplanade a new church is under construction. The Church of the Holy Trinity is scheduled to be complete in 2007, when the Shrine will mark the 90th anniversary of the apparition. The new church will be able to hold 12,000 people.

Everywhere you turn at the Shrine, you can see popular expressions of the piety and devotion of the Portuguese people. It is the tradition in Portugal that during their life, each person will make at least one pilgrimage to Fatima, walking from their home. Many, when they arrive at the Shrine, will walk the last several hundred yards on their knees as they pray the Rosary.

Next to the Apparition Chapel, built on the site where the Blessed Mother first appeared to the Little Shepherds, is a long fire pit where people will burn a candle for a special intention. Among the candles it is common to see wax replicas of body parts that people throw onto the fire with a prayer of thanksgiving for the cure of a medical condition affecting that part of the body or to pray for a cure.

Each night at the Apparition Chapel, the Rosary is recited followed by a candlelight procession. The people will sing a Marian hymn as they follow a statue of Our Lady of Fatima as it is carried around the esplanade of the Shrine.

During the tour for the Catholic press, an outdoor Mass at the shrine drew more than 100,000 people. At the end of the Mass, as the statue of Our Lady of Fatima was returned to the Apparition Chapel, thousands of people pulled out white handkerchiefs to wave goodbye to their Mother in a traditional expression of love.

After the Mass, pilgrims from throughout Portugal spent a warm, sunny afternoon on the grounds of the Shrine enjoying a picnic lunch. Groups of people would bring out large pots of food as families and friends enjoyed the day and the setting.

The Shrine is surrounded by hotels and guesthouses that cater to pilgrims. The Catholic Press group stayed at Domus Pacis, a guest house adjacent to the Shrine owned and operated by the World Apostolate of Fatima, also known as the Blue Army.

Other popular sites for tourists in the area around the Shrine include:

• The homes of the Little Shepherds in nearby Aljustrel. Behind the childhood home of Sister Lucia is a site where an angel appeared to the children a year before the apparition of the Blessed Mother. The homes have been preserved and are open to the public.

• Valinhos, which is the site where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to the children in August of 1917.

At Valinhos, pilgrims can walk to the top at the hill stopping to pray at the Stations of the Cross located in small chapels along the way. The route follows the path that the Little Shepherds took from Aljustrel to the Cova da Iria, where the apparitions occurred. At the top of the hill is a Chapel dedicated to St. Stephen of Hungary, one of the great apostles of the Rosary.

• In Fatima pilgrims can visit the parish church where the Little Shepherds were baptized and its cemetery where Francisco was first buried.

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. Located on the Tejo River near where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean, Lisbon long has been an important port.

Along the river are the Belem Tower, the Jeronimos Monastery and the Monument to the Discoveries, all of which celebrate the Portuguese Discoveries during the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, when Portuguese sailors and explorers were the first Europeans to sail to Africa, the Far East and the farthest reaches of South America.

Lisbon is the birthplace of St. Anthony of Padua, the city’s patron saint. The place of his birth, now a church and a museum dedicated to the saint, still stands next to the Cathedral of Lisbon. The Cathedral was one of the few buildings to survive the great earthquake of 1755, which destroyed most of Lisbon.

Santarém

After a short tour of some of the major sites of Lisbon, the Catholic press tour group traveled north to the city of Santarém the site of the Church of the Most Holy Miracle.

At the request of a sorceress, a woman stole a consecrated host from the church. But after the host began to bleed, she returned it to the church where it is still kept.

Batalha

The monastery at Batalha was built to commemorate a famous military victory.

Nuno Alvares Pereira, a close friend of King João I, lead the Portuguese Army to victory over Spain in the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385. After spending nearly all of his life as a soldier, Pereira entered the Carmelite order in his last years. He was beatified in 1918.

To commemorate the victory, the king ordered the construction of a monastery in honor of the Blessed Mother. The Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria was the first in Portugal to use Gothic-styled statues to teach lay people about the faith.

The monastery is the site of the tombs of King Joao I and his family.

Because the monastery was built to honor a military victory, it became the site of Portugal’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Óbidos

Located on a hillside is the picturesque medieval city of Óbidos.

Inside the ancient walls that surround the city are whitewashed houses, shops and churches along narrow streets.

Located in the city’s castle is a five-star hotel.

Visitors can walk along the perimeter walls to enjoy breathtaking views of the village and the valley below.

Óbidos, a small town home to 40 churches and chapels, is the site of a popular procession during Holy Week each year.

The town is famous for a cherry brandy, called ginjinha, sold throughout the town.

The town has been the site of a village for at least 2,300 years.

Nazaré

A short distance from Óbidos on the Atlantic coast of Portugal lies Nazaré, a fishing village and popular spot for the people of Portugal to spend their summer holiday.

Nazaré’s fishermen still sail to the North Sea searching for cod, but over the years, tourism has become a more important part of the city’s economy.

Visitors can enjoy a meal and a view of the beach and Atlantic Ocean at the Sao Miguel Restaurant.

The oldest sections of the city are located on the cliff overlooking the beach, which provides beautiful views of the village below, the beach and the ocean.

Coimbra

North of Fatima is located Coimbra, Portugal’s third largest city and the country’s academic center since the 13th century. The University of Coimbra, located atop a hill overlooking the city, today has nearly 30,000 students and is home to the country’s premier schools of law and medicine.

It also is an important city in the spiritual history of Portugal. At different times it was the home of St. Anthony of Padua, St. Isabel the Holy Queen of Portugal, and Sister Lucia, one of the Little Shepherds of Fatima.

Atop a hill opposite the University of Coimbra is a convent of the Poor Clares where St. Isabel lived the last years of her life and where she is buried. As queen of Portugal, St. Isabel cared for the poor and the needy of the country and founded several hospitals in Coimbra.

Sister Lucia lived nearly 60 years as a cloistered nun at a Carmelite convent in Coimbra. She is buried at the convent where she lived, but her body is expected to be moved to Fatima next year.

Fatima at center of World Day of Prayer for Life

FATIMA, PORTUGAL. On Respect Life Sunday, members of the World Apostolate of Fatima – the Blue Army of Fatima – from around the globe offered more than 100 million prayers for the sanctity of life.

“On this day we have pledged many prayers … and we know that millions of people are praying today,” Americo Lopez-Ortiz, international president of the World Apostolate of Fatima, said on Oct. 2. “The idea in this initiative of prayer is that the culture of life will overcome the culture of death. That’s why the message of Fatima is a message of prayer, of peace, of life.”

While Lopez-Ortiz was in Fatima for the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Life, members of the Blue Army in 42 nations around the world participated in the event. At Fatima, more than 100,000 people filled the square outside the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima for Mass to mark the day of prayer for life. Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva of Leiria-Fatima celebrated the Mass, which also served as the annual pilgrimage to the Shrine for lay Franciscans from throughout Portugal and for the people of the diocese.

Later that day, Lopez-Ortiz helped to lead a special Rosary and procession around the square as part of the World Day of Prayer.

Similar prayer services and Masses were celebrated at the Blue Army’s U.S. headquarters in Washington, N.J., and in other nations.

The initiative for the World Day of Prayer began with the Blue Army in the U.S., said Nuno Prazeres, international secretary of the World Apostolate of Fatima.

“We hope in the coming years, this event can become the largest day of prayer in the world for pro-life,” he said.

Respect for life efforts match well with the message of Our Lady of Fatima, Lopez-Ortiz said.

“From the beginning, the Fatima message focused on the importance of the sanctity of life,” said Lopez-Ortiz.

In 1917, the Blessed Virgin appeared to three children in Fatima, Francisco Marto, 9, his sister, Jacinta Marto, 7, and their cousin, Luisa dos Santos, 10, as they tended their sheep Among the things Our Lady said to the Little Shepherds, as they are lovingly called in Portugal, was to ask them to tell the world to pray for the conversion of sinners and for peace.

“She showed the Little Shepherds the light from her heart, which was God himself,” Lopez-Ortiz said. “The message of Fatima is a life-giving message because God is life.”

Central to the message of Fatima, is conversion.

“Fatima is the message of the primacy of God,” Lopez-Ortiz said.

New statue sends pro-life message to Fatima pilgrims

FATIMA, PORTUGAL. Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima blessed a new statue, “Mary Mother of the Life Within,” that will be permanently displayed at Domus Pacis, the guesthouse near the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima owned and operated by the World Apostolate of Fatima.

The Blessed Virgin, through the Message of Fatima, is urging people to improve the world, Bishop Serafim said after the blessing of the statue on Sunday, Oct. 2.

“I believe the Mother of the Savior is telling us to think, to create, to develop a world where we can live better,” the bishop said through an interpreter.

Earlier in the day, the bishop celebrated an outdoor Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima for more than 100,000 people. During his homily, the bishop, who does not speak English, talked about the diversity of plants on a farm and that although each should bear fruit, some don’t.

The diverse people of the world are like those plants, he explained, some bearing fruit and others not. “Will we be the one bearing fruit?” Bishop Serafim asked.

The Mass and the blessing of the statue were part of the events held at Fatima for the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Life, sponsored by the World Apostolate of Fatima. More than 100 million prayers from people around the world were pledged in keeping with Our Lady of Fatima’s message “to pray and to pray often,” said Americo Lopez-Ortiz, of Puerto Rico, the international president of the World Apostolate of Fatima.

On the same day the statue was blessed in Fatima, an identical statue was blessed and placed at the Fatima apostolate’s U.S. headquarters in Washington, N.J.

The statue, depicting Mary holding the infant Jesus as he rests his head on her heart, was designed to offer a pro-life message, according to a statement of the World Apostolate of Fatima.

“Mary’s posture is analogous to that of a pregnant woman placing her hands over her womb and the child within; the Infant’s posture subtly suggests the fetal position of an unborn child,” according to the statement. “This is to show the inseparable connection between these dual phases of human life and development.”

The statue depicts Mary in a posture reminiscent of the Pieta, but her face expresses a different emotion. “This new statue shows Mary’s joyful acceptance of her Motherhood as she envelopes her child in a protective, life-giving embrace,” according to the statement. “That gesture will eventually lead to the opening of her arms – first to give Jesus to the world, and then to receive him back in his suffering and death.”

“The only way to fix society is to give God the place he deserves,” he added.

If we remove God from our civilization, we will be abandoned to our own fate, Lopez-Ortiz said. “Mary’s acceptance of God’s will is what is needed in today’s world to overcome all obstacles.”

Promoting that message is part of an evolution in the Fatima movement, Lopez-Ortiz said.

The movement was founding the United States in 1947 as the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima. “We have developed into a public association of the faithful,” Lopez-Ortiz said, one of only 11 approved by the Vatican.

“Our mission has changed from being mostly a devotional organization to one now focused on formation of the laity through the new evangelization proposed by Pope John Paul II,” Lopez-Ortiz said.

The World Day of Prayer was scheduled just as Portugal is preparing for a national referendum on whether to lift many of the country’s restrictions on abortion, essentially making abortion available on demand during the first 10 weeks of the pregnancy.

But the organizers of the World Day of Prayer did not see it as a political event. While sharing the position of pro-life supporters in Portugal and around the world, the Fatima movement “tries to achieve the same goals but by spiritual means,” Lopez-Ortiz said.

The world is engaged in a great battle between good and evil, between the culture of life and the culture of death, said Lopez-Ortiz. “Hard work and prayer both united … will triumph in the struggle for life.”

Photos by Andy Telli

A pilgrim carries a cross leading a group as it walked the Stations of the Cross at Valhinos, the site of one of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. The chapels of the Stations of the Cross were built along the path the three children walked from their home to the site of the first apparition.	A statue of Our Lady of Fatima overlooks the altar at the Apparition Chapel, built on the site where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared 1917 to three children.
A woman carries her infant child on her shoulders as she walks around the Shrine at Fatima on her knees. Many pilgrims to Fatima walk around the esplanade of the Shrine and the Apparition Chapel on their knees as they pray. It is a tradition that started with Portuguese veterans of World War I who would walk on their knees for the last several hundred feet of their pilgrimage to the site of the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary to tell the world, then engulfed in World War I, to pray for peace and the conversion of sinners.	The statue of Our Lady of Fatima is carried in a procession at the start of an outdoor Mass at the Shrine
A woman wearing a sweater on her head to shield herself from a bright sun while she and her daughter wait in the esplanade of the Shrine at Fatima for the start of an outdoor Mass.	A tour group of representatives of the Catholic Press visits the cemetery of the church in Fatima where the Little Shepherds, the three children who the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to in 1917, were baptized. One of the three children, Francisco Marto, was buried in the cemetery until his body was moved to the basilica at the Shrine at Fatima.
Pilgrims to Fatima visit the tomb of Jacinta Marto, one of the three children to whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared. Her tomb, like that of her brother, Francisco, is located in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima.	A statue of Our Lady of Fatima stands beside the altar of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima.
The statue of the Our Lady of Fatima decorates the altar at the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at Fatima. The small Portuguese town is site of one of the most important shrines in the Catholic world, drawing 4 million pilgrims a year from around the globe to the spot where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three children in 1917.	The Tower of Belem is one of the monuments in Lisbon commemorating the age of Portuguese Discoveries. In the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, sailors and explorers from Portugal were the first Europeans to sail to Africa, the Far East and the farthest reaches of South America. In the foreground is a model of the tower, which stands in the background on the banks of Tejo River.
The altar of the Jeronimos Monastery in Lisbon. The Monastery is one of several monuments in Lisbon built to commemorate the Age of Portuguese Discoveries. Sailors and explorers from Portugal were the first Europeans to sail to Africa, the Far East and the farthest reaches of South America.	A woman prays in the Church of the Most Holy Miracle in Santarem. Pilgrims come to the church to see the bleeding host.
A tour group of representatives of the Catholic Press visits the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria in Batalha. Outside the monastery is a statue of Nuno Alveres Pereira who lead the Portuguese army to a military victory over Spain at the site in the 14th century.	Three Portuguese soldiers march down the hall of the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria in Batalha during the changing of the guard at the country’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for World War I. The monastery, which houses the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, was built to commemorate a military victory over Spain.
A tour group of representatives of the Catholic press visit the unfinished chapel of the Monastery of Santa Maria da Vitoria in Batalha, Portugal. The monastery was built over 150 years, but the final chapel was never finished and has no roof.	A woman embroiders as she sits in one of the churches of Obidos, a medieval, walled city that dates back 2,300 years.
Obidos is a hillside village with a medieval castle and wall built to protect it.	The beach at the seaside village of Nazare is a popular vacation spot for the people of Portugal.
A man looks over thehills of Coimbra, the third largest city in Portugal and home to the country's leading university. The University of Coimbrawas established in 1290.	Pilgrims to the Shrine of Fatima participate in a candlelight procession, singing, as they follow a statue of Our Lady of Fatima that is carried around the esplanade before it is returned to the Apparition Chapel. The World Apostolate of Fatima, known as the Blue Army, collected pledges for 100 million prayers to be said on Oct. 2, the World Day of Prayer for the Sanctity of Life.
An elderly pilgrim to Fatima prays the Rosary at the Shrine of Fatima’s Apparition Chapel while leaning against the wheelchair of his wife. The shrine attracts 4 million pilgrims a year answering the Blessed Virgin Mary’s call for people to pray the Rosary often for world peace and the conversion of sinners.	Bishop Serafim de Sousa Ferreira e Silva of the Diocese of Leiria-Fatima, Portugal, blessed a new statue, “Mary Mother of the Life Within,” which will be displayed at the guesthouse of the World Apostolate of Fatima headquarters in Fatima. With the bishop is Americo Lopez-Ortiz, of Puerto Rico, the international president of the World Apostolate of Fatima.