Fátima is a city and parish of the municipality of Ourém (13 212 inhabitants · 72 km²), in the Serra de Aire, known worldwide for the apparitions reported by three shepherd children in 1917 and for the Fátima Sanctuary at Cova da Iria. The children lived in the village of Aljustrel, which is part of the parish.
The parish belongs to the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima, which took that name in 1984.
The apparitions of Fátima
1916: according to Lúcia's accounts, an angel appears three times to the children, at the Loca do Cabeço and at the well of Lúcia's home.
13 May 1917: the first apparition of the Virgin Mary, over a small holm oak at Cova da Iria.
13 June and 13 July 1917: the second and third apparitions. In July, the children receive what became known as the Secret of Fátima.
19 August 1917: the fourth apparition takes place at Valinhos, because the children had been held by the administrator of Ourém on the 13th.
13 September 1917: the fifth apparition.
13 October 1917: the sixth apparition, when a large crowd at Cova da Iria reports unusual movements of the sun, known as the Miracle of the Sun.
The shepherd children
Lúcia dos Santos (1907 to 2005): born in Aljustrel, she became a Carmelite nun in Coimbra and wrote the accounts of the apparitions. She died in Coimbra on 13 February 2005.
Francisco Marto (1908 to 1919): Lúcia's cousin, who died at home in Aljustrel on 4 April 1919, during the influenza epidemic.
Jacinta Marto (1910 to 1920): Francisco's sister, who died in Lisbon on 20 February 1920. Francisco and Jacinta were beatified on 13 May 2000 and canonised on 13 May 2017, and their feast day is 20 February.
What to see in Fátima
Fátima Sanctuary: the Chapel of the Apparitions, the two basilicas and the prayer square at Cova da Iria.
Aljustrel: the village of the shepherd children, with the house of Lúcia and the house of Francisco and Jacinta, both open to visitors.
Valinhos and the Loca do Cabeço: the sites of the fourth apparition of the Virgin and of the apparitions of the angel, near Aljustrel.
Via Sacra and Hungarian Calvary: a Way of the Cross with 14 chapels, paid for by Hungarian refugees, which ends at the Calvary chapel near Valinhos.
Parish church of Fátima: the church where the three children were baptised.
Museums: several private museums in the city tell the story of the apparitions with wax figures and multimedia.
History of Fátima
1917: the apparitions take place at Cova da Iria and Valinhos.
17 January 1918: the Diocese of Leiria is restored, and its bishop later leads the inquiry into the apparitions.
13 October 1930: the Bishop of Leiria permits the cult of Our Lady of Fátima.
13 May 1984: the diocese is renamed Leiria-Fátima.
1997: Fátima is raised to the status of a city.
2017: the centenary of the apparitions is marked by the visit of Pope Francis and the canonisation of Francisco and Jacinta.
