Place · Pilgrimage site
Sanctuary of Fátima
The sanctuary at the Cova da Iria where three shepherd children, Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta, reported six apparitions of the Virgin Mary in 1917; the apparitions were declared worthy of belief in 1930.
- Location
- Fátima, Santarém, Portugal
- Building
- Marian sanctuary: chapel of the apparitions, basilicas and precinct (not a cathedral)
- Tradition
- Roman Catholic
- Religious use
- In use as a Catholic shrine of the Diocese of Leiria–Fátima.
- Official website
- Santuário de Fátima (official website, opens another site)
Map The Chapel of the Apparitions: Apple Maps · Google Maps — this point within the site, not a confirmed visitor entrance.
Overview
Pilgrims gather at the small Chapel of the Apparitions, built where the children said the Lady stood, and at the basilica where two of the children are buried.
History
Each paragraph says whether it is documented history, a tradition handed down, or disputed.
- Tradition
The sanctuary’s own narrative records apparitions of an angel to the children in 1916, then six appearances of “the Lady of the Rosary” between 13 May and 13 October 1917, five of them at the Cova da Iria. Lúcia, the surviving seer, later wrote them down in her memoirs.
- Documented
The Chapel of the Apparitions was built between 28 April and 15 June 1919. On 13 October 1930 the bishop of Leiria, after a canonical commission, declared the visions “worthy of belief” and authorised the cult of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was begun in 1928 and dedicated on 7 October 1953.
- Documented
Francisco Marto died in 1919 and Jacinta in 1920; both were beatified in 2000 and canonised by Pope Francis at the sanctuary on 13 May 2017. Lúcia died in 2005. Jacinta and Lúcia are buried in the Basilica of the Rosary.
Sources
Source-reviewed. Checked on 29 Oct 2026 against the sources marked “Read in a build session” with a passage named: the apparitions as reported, the 1930 recognition, the chapel and basilica, and the seers’ deaths and canonisation (the sanctuary’s pages, the Portuguese bishops’ letter, the Holy See). The apparitions are reported as the seers’ testimony and the Church’s judgement. No independent scholarly history was read this session. This is a review of the statements named, not a verification of the whole site or of every tradition it describes.
Official source · Read in a build session
Places of the apparitions — Santuário de Fátima
Passage read: section “Chapel of the Apparitions”
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r2-fatima/04). Supports: five of the six apparitions at the chapel site; built 28 April – 15 June 1919.
Official source · Read in a build session
Places of cult and prayer — Santuário de Fátima
Passage read: section on the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r2-fatima/05). Supports: first stone 13 May 1928, dedication 7 October 1953; basilica title 1954; the tombs of Jacinta (died 20 February 1920) and Lúcia (died 13 February 2005).
Official source · Read in a build session
Narrative of the apparitions — Santuário de Fátima
Passage read: the cycles of 1915–1917
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r2-fatima/01). Supports the angel’s apparitions of 1916 and the narrative of 1917, from Lúcia’s memoirs.
Official source · Read in a build session
Chronology of the three seers — Santuário de Fátima
Passage read: entries for 1919 and 1920
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r2-fatima/03). Supports Francisco’s death on 4 April 1919 and Jacinta’s on 20 February 1920.
Official source · Read in a build session
Fatima, Sign of Hope for our time (pastoral letter of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference, 8 December 2016) — Santuário de Fátima (Documents of the Magisterium)
Passage read: section 1, on the recognition of the apparitions
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r3-fatima/01). Supports the bishop of Leiria’s pastoral letter of 13 October 1930 declaring the visions worthy of belief, and the beatification of Francisco and Jacinta in 2000.
Official source · Read in a build session
Homily at the canonisation of Francisco and Jacinta Marto (13 May 2017) — Pope Francis — Holy See
Passage read: title
Read on 29 Oct 2026 from the copy fetched by the research workflow (research/fetched/pages/r3-fatima/02). Supports the canonisation at the sanctuary on 13 May 2017.