The Shrine of Our Lady of Fátima is Portugal's great Marian shrine and one of the world's great Marian shrines[1]. It stands at the Cova da Iria, near the town of Fátima in central Portugal, on the very spot where, according to the account recognised by the Church, the Virgin Mary appeared to three young shepherds between 13 May and 13 October 1917. In a century, a rocky pasture of the Portuguese serra has become an immense esplanade lined with two basilicas, to which millions of pilgrims from every continent converge each year.
This article does not retell the apparitions nor analyse the three secrets: for that dossier — the six encounters of 1917, the vision of hell, the foretelling of the Second World War, the consecration of Russia, the third secret and the canonisation of the seers — see the hub article Our Lady of Fatima: the 1917 Apparitions. The present article deals with the place itself: the birth of the shrine, its buildings, the statue and its crown, the tombs of the seers, pilgrimage life, the lived spirituality of the place, and the worldwide spread of devotion to Our Lady of Fátima.
Alongside Lourdes, Fátima has become, for the contemporary Church, the great shrine of penance, of the Rosary and of the Immaculate Heart of Mary — three words that sum up the message entrusted to the pastorinhos, and which the pilgrim comes to the Cova da Iria not to study but to pray.
The Cova da Iria: From Pasture to Shrine
The Cova da Iria — literally "Iria's hollow", after a former owner — was at the beginning of the 20th century a poor plot belonging to the parents of Lúcia dos Santos, where the little girl and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto grazed the family flock[2]. Nothing distinguished this valley of the serra de Aire: stony soil, a few olive trees, stunted holm oaks. It was above a small holm oak (azinheira, in Portuguese) that the children said they saw, on the 13th of each month, "a Lady brighter than the sun".
The place belongs to the parish of Fátima, in the municipality (concelho) of Ourém, Santarém district, about a hundred kilometres north of Lisbon. The very name of Fátima — a legacy of the Moorish occupation of the peninsula — gives the devotion a singular resonance, often noted: it is under a name of Muslim origin that the Virgin is today prayed to throughout the world.
From the autumn of 1917, despite the hostility of a Portuguese State that was then fiercely anticlerical (the young secular Republic of 1910 had embarked on a policy of dechristianisation), pilgrims began to flock spontaneously to the Cova da Iria. They came first in secret, then by the thousand. Popular piety long preceded official recognition: the crowd made the shrine before the Church authorised it.
The Birth of the Shrine (1917–1953)
The development of the place followed a cautious rhythm, punctuated by the slow canonical inquiry and by opposition from the civil power. Three stages structure it: the first chapel, the recognition of the cult by the Bishop of Leiria, and the completion of the great basilica.
- 13 May – 13 October 1917The six apparitions
At the Cova da Iria, the three shepherds report seeing the Virgin on the 13th of each month, from May to October. On 13 October, a crowd estimated at 70,000 people witnesses the solar phenomenon known as the "miracle of the sun". Detailed account: The 1917 Apparitions.
- 28 April – 15 June 1919The first Capelinha
On the exact site of the holm oak, a small masonry chapel is raised by the mason Joaquim Barbeiro, with the permission of Lúcia's mother: this is the Capelinha das Aparições[3].
- 6 March 1922The anticlerical attack
A bomb planted by anticlerical elements destroys the Capelinha by night. The vault is blown off; the chapel will be rebuilt by the end of 1922[4].
- 13 May 1928The basilica's foundation stone
The Archbishop of Évora, Dom Manuel da Conceição Santos, blesses the foundation stone of the future Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary[5].
- 13 October 1930The recognition of the cult
Dom José Alves Correia da Silva, Bishop of Leiria, declares the visions "worthy of belief" and officially authorises the cult of Our Lady of Fátima[6].
- 7 October 1953The consecration of the basilica
The Capelinha das Aparições
The Capelinha das Aparições ("little chapel of the Apparitions") is the beating heart of the shrine. Built between 28 April and 15 June 1919 on the very site of the holm oak, it is a tiny chapel with no architectural pretension, in violent contrast with the immensity of the esplanade surrounding it[8]. A marble column marks the exact spot of the azinheira, topped by the statue of the Virgin.
On 6 March 1922, anticlericals detonated a bomb there in the middle of the night, hoping to stifle a devotion they judged obscurantist. The chapel was blown apart — but the statue, that day, had been removed and kept elsewhere. Far from extinguishing the pilgrimage, the attack redoubled it. The Capelinha was rebuilt by the end of the year[9]. It is still before it that the daily Rosary is recited and that the great processions gather.
The Recognition of the Cult (1930)
For thirteen years, the Church observed, questioned, cross-checked. A canonical commission was instituted by the Bishop of Leiria, Dom José Alves Correia da Silva, in 1922. At the end of the inquiry, the bishop published, on 13 October 1930, a solemn pastoral letter recognising the authenticity of the apparitions and permitting public worship:
"We judge the visions of the children at the Cova da Iria worthy of belief […] and we officially permit the cult of Our Lady of Fátima." — Dom José Alves Correia da Silva, Bishop of Leiria, 13 October 1930[10]
This decision — cautious, reasoned, taken by the competent diocesan authority — is the shrine's founding juridical act. On the method the Church applies in such cases, see How to Discern a Marian Apparition? and Should We Believe Private Revelations?.
The Shrine's Buildings
The Shrine of Fátima unfolds around a monumental esplanade some 500 metres long, one of the world's vastest places of prayer — often described as roughly twice St Peter's Square in Rome[11]. At its two ends face the two basilicas, separated by the Capelinha and by the wide parvis where pilgrims gather.
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário) dominates the northern end of the esplanade. Its foundation stone was blessed on 13 May 1928; it took a quarter of a century to complete, and it was consecrated on 7 October 1953[12]. In neoclassical style, it is the work of the architects Gerardus Samuel van Krieken, António Lino and João Antunes. Its bell tower rises to 65 metres, crowned with a bronze cross and an illuminated crown; its carillon counts 62 bells cast at Fátima itself.
On either side, a vast semicircular colonnade, adorned with statues of saints, closes the esplanade and shelters pilgrims. Before the basilica stands the great statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (1958, work of the Dominican Thomas McGlynn), while at the centre of the esplanade a Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus marks the site of a spring[13]. It is inside the Basilica of the Rosary that the three seers rest.
The Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity
Facing the Basilica of the Rosary, at the southern end of the esplanade, the growing influx of pilgrims made the construction of a second great church necessary. The Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity (Basílica da Santíssima Trindade) was built from 2004 to 2007 and inaugurated on 12 October 2007, for the 90th anniversary of the apparitions, by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary of State[14]. The work of the Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis, it is a vast circular building 125 metres in diameter, with no interior pillar, which can hold 8,633 seated faithful — placing it among the world's largest churches by capacity.
Its resolutely contemporary architecture, stripped and luminous, has sometimes surprised; but it answers a real pastoral need: to shelter, from the rain or the heat of the Portuguese summer, assemblies the esplanade could no longer contain.
Other Memorials of the Shrine
The shrine houses several monuments laden with memory. At its entrance stands, since 13 August 1994, a fragment of the Berlin Wall — a concrete block over three metres high, offered by a Portuguese emigrant: Fátima thus recalls the link devotion establishes between the 1917 message on Russia and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe[15]. A tall steel cross (Cruz Alta) of 34 metres, erected in 2007, signals the holy place from afar. These signs are not ornaments: they visually translate the Church's reading of Fátima as a shrine of peace and of the conversion of nations.
The Statue of Our Lady of Fátima and Its Crown
The statue venerated at the Capelinha is the work of the Portuguese sculptor José Ferreira Thedim, who made it in 1920 in Brazilian cedar, following the indications given by Sister Lúcia on the Lady's appearance[16]. A little over a metre high, it depicts the Virgin in prayer, hands joined, a rosary hanging from her right hand.
On 13 May 1946, at the end of the Second World War, the statue was solemnly crowned by Cardinal Benedetto Aloisi Masella, legate of Pope Pius XII, in a gesture that consecrated Fátima as a shrine of universal scope[17]. On crowned Marian statues and the meaning of this rite, see The Marian Dogmas.
The crown of Our Lady of Fátima bears a shattering detail. On 13 May 1981, the anniversary day of the first apparition, Pope John Paul II was the victim of an attempt on his life in St Peter's Square; he attributed his survival to the protection of the Virgin of Fátima. In 1984, he had the bullet that struck him sent to the shrine. It was then set in the statue's crown, into which it fits exactly[18]. The pilgrim who contemplates the crown today sees this projectile there: a concrete sign, almost brutal, of an intercession believed in the flesh of history.
"One hand fired, and another guided the bullet." — words attributed to Saint John Paul II on the attempt of 13 May 1981[19]
The Tombs of the Three Seers
The Basilica of the Rosary is also the tomb of the three shepherds. At the two ends of the transept now rest those whom the Virgin had chosen as witnesses.
| Seer | Death | Burial at Fátima |
|---|---|---|
| Saint Jacinta Marto | 20 February 1920 (Lisbon) | translation on 1 May 1951 |
| Saint Francisco Marto | 4 April 1919 (Fátima) | translation on 13 March 1952 |
| Sister Lúcia dos Santos | 13 February 2005 (Coimbra) | translation on 19 February 2006 |
Francisco and Jacinta, carried off by the Spanish flu shortly after the apparitions, were beatified by John Paul II on 13 May 2000, then canonised by Pope Francis on 13 May 2017 — the youngest non-martyr saints in the Church's history[20]. Lúcia, become a Carmelite at Coimbra under the name of Sister Mary Lucy of the Immaculate Heart, died at nearly 98; her remains were transferred to Fátima a year later and laid beside her cousins[21]. The details of their lives, their causes and their canonisation are given in the article The 1917 Apparitions.
That the bodies of the three witnesses rest beneath the shrine they brought into being gives Fátima a particular density: the pilgrim prays above the tombs of those who saw.
Pilgrimage Life
Fátima welcomes about six million pilgrims a year[22]. The shrine lives all year round, but its own pulse is monthly: on the 12th and 13th of each month, from May to October, the great international pilgrimages are held, commemorating the six apparitions. The gatherings of 13 May (first anniversary) and 13 October (day of the miracle of the sun) draw the most considerable crowds, up to several hundred thousand people.
The Rosary and the Torchlight Procession
The shrine's master prayer is the Rosary, recited each day at the Capelinha, as the Virgin had asked at each apparition. In the evening, after the international Mass, takes place the famous torchlight procession: tens of thousands of lighted candles ripple across the esplanade while the statue, carried on a flower-decked bier, comes down from the Capelinha to the singing of the Ave of Fátima[23].
The Farewell Procession
The next day, when the statue is brought back to the Chapel of the Apparitions, takes place the moving Farewell procession (Procissão do Adeus): the entire crowd waves white handkerchiefs toward the Virgin as she moves away, in a collective farewell that often brings tears[24]. It is one of the most recognisable moments of Fatimite piety.
The Sick and Penance
Like Lourdes, Fátima is a shrine of the sick. The procession of the Blessed Sacrament is accompanied by a blessing of the sick, gathered in number before the basilica. Many pilgrims, out of devotion and in a spirit of reparation, traverse on their knees the long penitential way crossing the esplanade to the Capelinha — a gesture of humility and supplication answering the Virgin's call directly:
"Sacrifice yourselves for sinners, and say often, especially when you make a sacrifice: 'O Jesus, it is for love of You, for the conversion of sinners, and in reparation for the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary.'" — words reported by Lúcia (apparition of 13 July 1917)[25]
The Spirituality of the Message, Lived at the Shrine
Fátima is not only a place of memory: it is a school of prayer. The message entrusted to the seers in 1917 — whose doctrinal content is analysed in the article on the apparitions — translates on the spot into three concrete practices every pilgrim is invited to take up again.
The Daily Rosary
At each of the six apparitions, the Lady presented herself as "the Virgin of the Rosary" and asked that it be recited every day for peace in the world:
"Say the Rosary every day, to obtain peace for the world and the end of the war." — words reported by Lúcia (13 May 1917)[26]
The Rosary is, at Fátima, the shrine's ordinary breath. On the practice and fruits of this prayer, see How to Grow in the Rosary and What the Saints Say on the Rosary.
Penance and Reparation
The second pillar is penance offered for the conversion of sinners. On 13 July 1917, the Virgin taught the children the prayer to be said after each decade of the Rosary, today recited throughout the world:
"O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy." — the Fátima prayer, taught on 13 July 1917[27]
This reparative dimension — daily sacrifices, fasting, offering of trials — lies at the heart of Fatimite spirituality and explains the shrine's kneeling ways and long nights of prayer.
The Immaculate Heart of Mary and the Five First Saturdays
The third pillar is devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, which the Virgin asked to be established in the world. From this request was born the reparative devotion of the five first Saturdays of the month — specified to Lúcia during later apparitions at Pontevedra (1925): confession, Communion, recitation of the Rosary and fifteen minutes of meditation, five months in a row, in reparation for the offences against the Immaculate Heart[28]. The shrine actively promotes this practice. Mary's place in God's design is deepened in The Virgin Mary in the Kingdom of the Divine Will.
"In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph." — words reported by Lúcia (second part of the secret, 13 July 1917)[29]
The Worldwide Spread of the Devotion
Devotion to Our Lady of Fátima overflowed Portugal's borders to become one of the most universal in the contemporary Church. Two instruments carried it across the world.
The International Pilgrim Statue
In 1947, the sculptor José Thedim made, again following Lúcia's indications, an International Pilgrim Statue (International Pilgrim Virgin Statue), blessed on 13 October 1947 by the Bishop of Leiria and destined to travel from country to country[30]. Since then, copies of this statue tirelessly travel dioceses, parishes and homes throughout the world, everywhere giving rise to vigils, consecrations and confessions. On this rite of honoured statues, see also Marian Apparitions Since the 19th Century.
The World Apostolate of Fátima
In 1946–1947, in the United States, the priest Harold V. Colgan and the layman John M. Haffert founded the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima (Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima), a prayer movement devoted to spreading the message: daily Rosary, wearing of the scapular, consecration to the Immaculate Heart. Become the World Apostolate of Fátima, it has been recognised by the Holy See and today counts millions of members on every continent[31].
Fátima and the Destiny of Nations
The message of Fátima marked 20th-century history far beyond private devotion. The request for the consecration of Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, accomplished by John Paul II on 25 March 1984 in union with the world's episcopate, and the peaceful collapse of the Soviet bloc between 1989 and 1991, were read by many — and by the Pope himself — as the fulfilment of the 1917 foretelling. The complete dossier of this consecration and its controversies is found in the article on the apparitions. Fátima may usefully be set beside Solidarność and John Paul II.
The Popes at Fátima
Fátima counts among the Marian shrines most visited by popes: four popes came there between 1967 and 2017, for a total of six pilgrimages[32]. Each visit confirmed and deepened Fátima's place in the Church's teaching.
Paul VI (1967)
On 13 May 1967, for the fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions, Paul VI came in person to the Cova da Iria — a rare gesture for the time — to pray for peace and the unity of the Church in the wake of the Council. Sister Lúcia, sole survivor of the three seers, stood at his side. The same day, the Pope published the apostolic exhortation Signum Magnum on devotion to the Virgin Mary[33].
John Paul II (1982, 1991, 2000)
No pope was more bound to Fátima than John Paul II. Convinced he owed his life to Our Lady of Fátima after the attempt of 13 May 1981, he came to the Cova da Iria:
- on 13 May 1982, in thanksgiving, one year to the day after the attempt[34];
- on 13 May 1991, for the tenth anniversary of his survival;
- on 13 May 2000, when he beatified Francisco and Jacinta and when the imminent revelation of the third part of the secret was announced, published and commented on by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on 26 June following[35].
Benedict XVI (2010) and Francis (2017)
Benedict XVI came to Fátima from 11 to 13 May 2010, where he uttered a warning that has remained famous against the illusion of a message "finished": "anyone who thinks the prophetic mission of Fátima is over is mistaken"[36]. Lastly, Pope Francis, on 13 May 2017, the day of the centenary of the apparitions, canonised Francisco and Jacinta Marto before an immense crowd, definitively inscribing the two little shepherds in the catalogue of saints[37].
What Remains of Fátima Today?
A century after 1917, the Cova da Iria remains one of the liveliest centres of Catholic prayer. Where an anticlerical State had believed it could erase faith with bombs and decrees, millions of pilgrims come each year to recite the Rosary, confess their sins and entrust themselves to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The shrine is nothing like a museum: it is the place where a simple message — pray, do penance, be converted — keeps transforming lives.
Fátima thus offers the contemporary Church a compendium of the whole Marian Gospel: a Mother who calls her children to conversion, little ones chosen to confound the mighty, and a promise of hope — "my Immaculate Heart will triumph"[38] — at the heart of the bloodiest century in history.
Going Further
- Our Lady of Fatima: the 1917 Apparitions — the detailed account of the six apparitions, the three secrets, the consecration of Russia and the canonisation of the seers.
- Our Lady of Lourdes (1858) — the other great contemporary Marian shrine of the West.
- Marian Apparitions Since the 19th Century — La Salette, Lourdes, Pontmain, Knock, Fátima…
- How to Discern a Marian Apparition? — the Church's method applied to Fátima.
- Should We Believe Private Revelations? — the theological status of recognised apparitions.
- The Four Marian Dogmas — the doctrinal framework of all Marian devotion.
- How to Grow in the Rosary — the master prayer of the Fátima message.
- Saint John Paul II — the pope of Fátima and of the 1984 consecration.
- Solidarność and John Paul II — Fátima and the fall of communism.
Notes and References
The Shrine of Fátima receives about six million pilgrims a year (common estimate; some years up to several million more). The great international pilgrimages are held on the 12th–13th of each month, May to October. Cf. "Chapel of the Apparitions" notice, English Wikipedia; Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt.
1 22The Cova da Iria is a plot belonging to the family of Lúcia dos Santos, where the three children grazed the flock; the apparitions took place above a small holm oak (azinheira). The place falls under the parish of Fátima, municipality of Ourém, Santarém district. Cf. Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt; "Chapel of the Apparitions" notice, English Wikipedia.
2The Capelinha das Aparições was built from 28 April to 15 June 1919 by the mason Joaquim Barbeiro, on the site of the holm oak, with the permission of Lúcia's mother. A bomb of anticlerical origin destroyed it on 6 March 1922; it was rebuilt from December 1922. Cf. "Chapel of the Apparitions" notice, English Wikipedia; Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt.
3 4 8 9Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima: foundation stone blessed on 13 May 1928 by the Archbishop of Évora Dom Manuel da Conceição Santos; consecration on 7 October 1953; title of minor basilica granted by Pius XII in 1954. Architects: Gerardus Samuel van Krieken, António Lino, João Antunes. 65 m tower; carillon of 62 bells. Cf. Portuguese Wikipedia, Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima.
5 7 12Dom José Alves Correia da Silva (1872–1957), Bishop of Leiria, instituted a canonical inquiry commission in 1922 and published on 13 October 1930 a pastoral letter declaring the visions "worthy of belief" and officially authorising the cult of Our Lady of Fátima. The wording quoted follows the translation reported by fatima.org, "Approval by the Bishop, 1930".
6 10Fátima's esplanade of prayer measures about 500 metres long for an area of roughly 75,000 m². The oft-repeated claim that it equals "about twice St Peter's Square" is an approximate comparison depending on the measure used (area or capacity). Cf. tourist notices and the Shrine of Fátima.
11The great statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary before the basilica (approx. 4.73 m, marble) is the work of the Dominican Thomas McGlynn, unveiled on 13 May 1958. It is distinct from the Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus at the centre of the esplanade, near a spring. Cf. Portuguese Wikipedia and Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt.
13Basílica da Santíssima Trindade: built from 2004 to 2007, inaugurated on 12 October 2007 by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone for the 90th anniversary of the apparitions. Architect: Alexandros Tombazis (winner of a 1997 international competition). Circular building 125 m in diameter, 8,633 seats, among the world's largest churches by capacity; basilica title conferred in 2012. Cf. Portuguese Wikipedia, Basílica da Santíssima Trindade; tombazis.com, Sanctuary of Fátima.
14The fragment of the Berlin Wall (concrete block approx. 3.60 m high, ≈ 2,600 kg) was installed at the shrine's entrance on 13 August 1994, a gift from a Portuguese emigrant living in Germany, set up by the architect J. Carlos Loureiro. It symbolises the link devotion establishes between Fátima's message on Russia and the fall of communism. Cf. infatima.pt, "Berlin Wall".
15The Capelinha statue is the work of the sculptor José Ferreira Thedim, made in 1920 in Brazilian cedar following Lúcia's indications. It was crowned on 13 May 1946 by Cardinal Benedetto Aloisi Masella, legate of Pius XII. Cf. French Wikipedia, Statue de Notre-Dame de Fátima; defatima.com, "Our Lady of Fatima Capelinha — Rich Crown".
16 17After the attempt of 13 May 1981, John Paul II had the bullet that struck him sent to the Shrine of Fátima, in 1984; it was set in the crown of the Capelinha statue, into which it fits exactly. (Some older sources wrongly date this episode to 1989; the date used is 1984.) Cf. French Wikipedia, Statue de Notre-Dame de Fátima; defatima.com.
18Words very widely reported and attributed to Saint John Paul II on the attempt of 13 May 1981: "one hand fired, another guided the bullet", expressing his conviction of having been protected by Our Lady of Fátima. It is quoted here as traditionally attributed words, not as a quotation from a precise magisterial document. Cf. accounts of the 13 May 1982 visit (vatican.va) and historiography of the attempt.
19Francisco Marto (1908–1919) and Jacinta Marto (1910–1920), carried off by the Spanish flu, were beatified by John Paul II on 13 May 2000 and canonised by Pope Francis on 13 May 2017; they count among the youngest non-martyr saints of the Church. Translations to the Basilica of the Rosary: Jacinta on 1 May 1951, Francisco on 13 March 1952. Cf. English Wikipedia, Francisco and Jacinta Marto; details in notre-dame-fatima.
20Lúcia dos Santos (1907–2005), in religion Sister Mary Lucy of the Immaculate Heart, a Carmelite at the Saint Teresa convent in Coimbra, died on 13 February 2005. Her remains were transferred to the Basilica of the Rosary at Fátima on 19 February 2006, beside her cousins. Cf. English Wikipedia, Lúcia dos Santos; fatima.org, "Sister Lucy laid to rest at Fatima".
21The torchlight procession (evening of the 12th) leads the statue from the Basilica of the Rosary to the Capelinha to the singing of the Ave of Fátima; the Farewell procession (Procissão do Adeus) sees pilgrims wave white handkerchiefs as the statue returns to the Chapel of the Apparitions. Cf. Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt, sections on celebrations and processions.
23 24Words of 13 July 1917 reported by Sister Lúcia. Original Portuguese text: "Sacrificai-vos pelos pecadores e dizei muitas vezes e em especial quando fizerdes alguns sacrifícios : "Ó Jesus, é por Vosso amor, pela conversão dos pecadores e em reparação pelos pecados cometidos contra o Imaculado Coração de Maria"". Source: Memórias da Irmã Lúcia I, 14th ed., Fátima: Secretariado dos Pastorinhos, 2010, pp. 176–177 (4th Memoir); account taken up by the Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt, "Narrativa das aparições" (https://www.fatima.pt/pt/pages/narrativa-das-aparicoes, Third apparition of Our Lady). The English version quoted is the standard translation. Details of the message in notre-dame-fatima.
25Words reported by Sister Lúcia for the apparition of 13 May 1917. Original Portuguese text: "Rezem o Terço todos os dias, para alcançarem a paz para o mundo e o fim da guerra". Source: Memórias da Irmã Lúcia I, 14th ed., Fátima: Secretariado dos Pastorinhos, 2010, pp. 172–173 (4th Memoir); account taken up by the Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt, "Narrativa das aparições" (https://www.fatima.pt/pt/pages/narrativa-das-aparicoes, First apparition of Our Lady). The English version quoted is the standard translation. The Virgin presented herself, on 13 October, as "Our Lady of the Rosary".
26The Fátima prayer, to be said after each decade of the Rosary, was taught to the three children on 13 July 1917: "When you say the Rosary, say after each mystery: 'O my Jesus…'". Original Portuguese text: "Quando rezais o Terço, dizei depois de cada mistério : "Ó meu Jesus, perdoai-nos, livrai-nos do fogo do inferno, levai as alminhas todas para o Céu, principalmente aquelas que mais precisarem"". Source: Memórias da Irmã Lúcia I, 14th ed., Fátima: Secretariado dos Pastorinhos, 2010, pp. 176–177 (4th Memoir); text taken up by the Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt, "Orações de Fátima" (https://www.fatima.pt/pt/pages/oracoes-de-fatima). The English version quoted is the standard translation, today widely integrated into the recitation of the Rosary.
27The reparative devotion of the five first Saturdays of the month (confession, Communion, Rosary and fifteen minutes of meditation, five consecutive months, in reparation for the offences against the Immaculate Heart of Mary) was asked of Sister Lúcia during the apparition at Pontevedra (10 December 1925), the Virgin having already announced, on 13 July 1917, "the reparative Communion of the first Saturdays". Cf. Memórias da Irmã Lúcia I, 14th ed., Fátima: Secretariado dos Pastorinhos, 2010 (account of 13 July 1917, pp. 176–177); Shrine of Fátima, fatima.pt, "Primeiros sábados" (https://www.fatima.pt/pt/pages/primeiros-sabados). Doctrinal development in notre-dame-fatima.
28"In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph": words of the second part of the secret (13 July 1917), reported by Sister Lúcia. Original Portuguese text: "Por fim o Meu Imaculado Coração triunfará" (Memórias da Irmã Lúcia I, 14th ed., Fátima: Secretariado dos Pastorinhos, 2010, pp. 176–177, 4th Memoir). Official text reproduced by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Message of Fatima, 26 June 2000 (https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20000626_message-fatima_fr.html). See notre-dame-fatima.
29 38The International Pilgrim Statue (International Pilgrim Virgin Statue) was carved by José Thedim in 1947 following Lúcia's indications, blessed on 13 October 1947 by the Bishop of Leiria José Alves Correia da Silva, then sent across the world. Cf. bluearmy.com, "The Wonders of the Pilgrim Virgin Statue".
30The Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima (Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima) was founded in the United States in 1946–1947 (sources diverge on the exact year) by the priest Harold V. Colgan and the layman John M. Haffert. Become the World Apostolate of Fatima (World Apostolate of Fatima), it has been recognised by the Holy See (2005 decree) and counts members on every continent. Cf. English Wikipedia, Blue Army of Our Lady of Fátima; bluearmy.com.
31Popes at Fátima, 1967–2017: Paul VI on 13 May 1967; John Paul II on 13 May 1982, 1991 and 2000; Benedict XVI from 11 to 13 May 2010; Francis on 12–13 May 2017 — four popes and six pilgrimages in half a century. Cf. Shrine of Fátima, "The Popes and Fatima" (https://www.papa2017.fatima.pt); homilies and addresses on vatican.va (visit-by-visit details in the notes below).
32Paul VI came to Fátima on 13 May 1967 for the fiftieth anniversary of the apparitions; Sister Lúcia stood at his side. The same day, he published the apostolic exhortation Signum Magnum on devotion to the Virgin (vatican.va). Cf. papa2017.fatima.pt, "The Popes and Fatima".
33John Paul II came to Fátima on 13 May 1982, one year to the day after the attempt in St Peter's Square (13 May 1981), to give thanks for his survival. Cf. addresses of 13 May 1982 (vatican.va); papa2017.fatima.pt.
34On 13 May 2000, during his third pilgrimage to Fátima, John Paul II beatified Francisco and Jacinta Marto and announced the disclosure of the third part of the secret. The text and the theological commentary (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) were published by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, The Message of Fatima, on 26 June 2000 (vatican.va). Cf. papa2017.fatima.pt.
35Benedict XVI made a pilgrimage to Fátima from 11 to 13 May 2010. During this visit, he warned that "anyone who thinks the prophetic mission of Fátima is over is mistaken" (homily and addresses, vatican.va). Cf. papa2017.fatima.pt.
36Pope Francis came to Fátima on 12–13 May 2017 for the centenary of the apparitions and canonised Francisco and Jacinta Marto on 13 May 2017. Cf. papa2017.fatima.pt, "The Popes and Fatima"; homily of the canonisation (vatican.va).
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