Stories and photos by Jim Thomas (unless otherwise indicated)
Introduction
My wife, Alexa, and I were married on March 30, 2019. She honored me by taking my last name. Because of this, there were over 65 name changes that needed to be made. These included her driver’s license, social security card, passport, Et. Al. It took almost the entire month of April to complete these changes and receive the new documents. That was why we started our honeymoon in May. We traveled Europe from Gibraltar to Greece via cruise ship, tour bus, train and airplane. Our last stop was Portugal, in my opinion, one of Europe’s best kept secrets.
We arrived in Portugal in mid-June and stayed in Lisbon at the Intercontinental Hotel and used that as a base for making day trips to numerous sites. One of the attractions that we visited was the Catholic Shrine at Fatima.
Journey to Fatima
After a large breakfast, we were off on a day tour that would take us to Fatima. We rode in a tour bus for the 88 mile trip north of Lisbon through the beautiful Portuguese countryside. It was a bright, sunny, late Spring day. The lovely, picturesque scenery reminded me of the land around Napa, California. The whole area was dotted with vineyards and fruit orchards. There were several ancient Portuguese windmills standing guard on hilltops over these wineries. They were joined by more modern, functioning windmills that generated electricity. Portugal seemed to be very energy and ecology conscious.
Prior to arriving at the grounds of the Fatima Basilica, we stopped at a factory that produced beautiful religious artifacts ranging from a various assortment of rosaries to beautifully carved and painted statues that suited every taste. These could be purchased at a wide range of prices. It was nice that this factory was well away from the Basilica ground as not to commercialize the shrine.
While we were at the factory, we watched skilled artists meticulously create statues of Jesus, the blessed Mary, and many other figures that were easily recognized by the faithful. The factory did not give the appearance of a normal assembly line that created trinkets and souvenirs for mass distribution. There was an apparent air of quiet reverence and care as they applied the paint to their subjects. The faces of these workers genuinely showed pride of ownership in their work.
Alexa and I had a mission to accomplish while we were at the factory. Many of our friends are Roman Catholic. The rosary is a prayer tool used by many Catholics. You will read later, how Fatima and the rosary are linked. Thus, we wanted to bring back rosaries from Fatima and give them to our Catholic friends as gifts. Much to the delight of the saleslady assisting us, we purchased 45 rosaries and 45 display boxes for our friends and family. Thank God we were able to buy them in bulk at a reasonable price. Loaded down with gifts and souvenirs, we boarded the tour bus to continue our journey to the Basilica at Fatima.
Touring the Grounds of Fatima
Upon arriving, the bus parked in a nearby parking lot. Passing the holm oak tree, also known as the great oak tree, where the 1917 Marian Apparitions occurred, we entered the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima. Instead of being simply one church, this Sanctuary is a huge complex occupying several acres, consisting of numerous chapels, basilicas, museums, and other religious areas. They border an enormous square that contains a monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and can hold hundreds of thousands of pilgrims during religious celebrations.
The buildings bordering the square include the Chapel of the Apparitions, which is near the holm oak tree. The much larger Basilica of the Holy Trinity is located at the opposite end of the square from the centerpiece of the Sanctuary, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, a magnificent white, cathedral-like structure with a huge golden crown on top of its steeple. It is on these grounds that pilgrims from around the world travel to worship and pay homage to Our Lady of Fatima.
The History of the Miracle
Fatima is a phenomenon filled with controversy across a wide spectrum ranging from staunch believers to atheists. Throughout the years, even the Roman Catholic Church has had issue with some of the aspects of Fatima involving the prophecies. The purpose of this writing is to describe our wonderful trip to Fatima and to present some of the history of the events that have taken place there over the last century. My intent is to stimulate your curiosity, for you to do your own investigation, and for you to make your own decision. I am not trying to persuade you on one viewpoint or another. However, I am convinced something happened on the grounds of Fatima in 1917 and millions of pilgrims agree with me.
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima was consecrated by Pope Pius XII in 1953 to commemorate the events that occurred between May and October 1917. During that period, there were six apparitions in which the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ, appeared to three shepherd children named: Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto.
The first apparition occurred on May 13, 1917, while the 3 children were tending sheep in the Parish of Fatima. Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta reported seeing a woman dressed in all white, “more brilliant than the sun, shedding rays of light clearer and stronger than a crystal glass filled with the most sparkling water and pierced by the burning rays of the sun.” The woman wore a white mantle edged with gold, a magnificent golden crown on her head, and held a rosary in her hand. The vision called herself, “Our Lady of the Rosary” and appeared over the holm oak tree. The tree still grows at the same spot.
The children believed that this was Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ. She asked the children to pray the rosary daily for the conversion of sinners, to bring peace to the world and to end the war (WW I). There were visits by Our Lady of the Rosary each month, with the last visit being on October 13, 1917.
These visions created much controversy among the children’s families, as well as church and local government officials. Many attempts were made by all concerned for the children to recant or deny the visions ever occurred. The three shepherd children, resisting threats and temptations of bribes, held steadfast to their story. Eventually, more and more people began to believe the apparitions actually occurred. However, the controversy didn’t end there.
The Three Secrets
During the July 13th visit, according to an interview of Lucia, Our Lady gave 3 prophecies to the children. The first two “Secrets” were revealed almost immediately. The First Secret provided a vison of hell with its tormented souls. Our Lady requested a strong devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The second prediction was WWII and the conflict between Christianity and Communism.
Unfortunately, Jacinta and Francisco both died from influenza in 1919, only a couple of years after the apparitions. However, Lucia became a Carmelite nun in 1949 and lived to be 97. Sister Lucia passed away in 2005.
The Third “Secret” was the most controversial. Until 1943, the secret had been committed to Lucia’s memory. Then, she fell seriously ill in 1943. Fearing that Lucia could pass away before the Secret was revealed, the Bishop of Leiria asked her to write down the text of it and place it in a sealed envelope. The contents of that envelope would not be revealed until 1960. In August, 1959, Pope John XXIII decided he would finally open the letter. Even though the contents had long been anticipated by the entire Catholic World, the Pope consigned the contents of the Third Secret to the Vatican Archives and he would not make it public.
Finally, in June of 2000, Pope John Paul II revealed the contents of the Third Secret. Although some say the full contents have not yet been revealed, the gist of the Third Secret dealt with the persecution of humanity during the 20th Century and the forces that would be attacking the Catholic church both from without and within. As you can imagine, this set off a firestorm of controversy that will not be resolved with this writing.
The most spectacular of the apparitions was the sixth and final one on October 13, 1917, when Mary appeared with St. Joseph. A crowd of 70,000 witnessed the sun dance, spin, display in various colors and descend on them, drying their rain-soaked clothes and the land. Yet, not all attending witnessed the miracle. However, the sun miracle was reported by people as far as 40 miles away.
On May 13, 2017, the 100th anniversary of the first apparition, Pope Francis canonized Jacinta and Francisco as saints. They were the youngest, non-martyrs ever to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church. The announcement occurred at the Basilica in Fatima as part of the centennial celebration of Our Lady’s appearance.
Fatima, A Major Pilgrimage Destination
Today, Fatima, Portugal has a population of 10,400 people. It has become an important site for Catholic pilgrims. In the Basilica are the tombs of the 3 shepherd children. It is estimated that 3-5 million pilgrims visit Fatima, annually. During the centennial celebrations of the apparitions, an estimated 9.4 million pilgrims took part in the numerous festivities over that year. These figures make Fatima one of the most visited religious sites in all of Christianity.
As stated before, my intent of this article is not to make a decision on the controversies surrounding Fatima. I hope to stimulate your curiosity, which may lead you to further investigation of Fatima and allow you to make your own decisions on the issues. My former Catholic training and experiences generate a pre-conceived bias. However, my wife is not Catholic and is generally unfamiliar with Catholic teachings and doctrine. I asked her what she thought of Fatima and did it generate any particular feelings? Her visit to Fatima moved her and gave her an unusual spiritual feeling while being on the grounds of the Basilica. While there, her curiosity was peaked causing her to learn as much as she could about the events that occurred there over a hundred years ago. For Alexa, it was truly a spiritual experience!
A Truly Spiritual Experience at Fatima
I had made this journey by myself a few years earlier and was blessed with lovely weather. However, as I was leaving the Basilica grounds, there were thunderstorms in the area. While it never rained on us directly, the weather created the most unusual phenomena…a beautiful, complete rainbow! I’ve got some great shots of the rainbow over the crucifix in front of the Chapel of the Apparitions, which is also on the grounds of the Basilica. I simply considered it to be one more gift! On the return trip to Lisbon, the rainbow remained in view for at least half an hour. This was another memorable experience that had been among many that year.
I hope you visit Fatima and enjoy the lovely, peaceful grounds of the Basilica. Learn more about the miracle of the apparitions and draw your own conclusions. I would be interested in hearing them. May you have an enjoyable, spiritual experience as we did.
