| Fátima | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima - Fátima, Portugal | |||
|
|||
|
Fátima
|
|||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Portugal | ||
| District | Santarém | ||
| Municipality | Ourém | ||
| Parishes | 1 | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 71.29 km2 (27.5 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2011) | |||
| • Total | 11,538 | ||
| • Density | 144/km2 (373/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | GMT (UTC0) | ||
Fátima (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfatimɐ] ( listen)) is a city in Portugal famous for the Marian apparitions, recognized by the Catholic Church, that took place there in 1917. The town itself has a population of 7,756[1] and is located in the municipality of Ourém, in the Centro Region and Médio Tejo Subregion. It is in the district of Santarém and is included in the urban agglomeration of Leiria, in central Portugal, 187 km (116 mi) south of Porto and 123 km (76 mi) north of Lisbon.
Contents |
The name of the town (formerly a small village) comes from the Arabic name Fatima (Fāṭimah, Arabic: فاطمة ).
Fátima became famous for the affluence of pilgrims to the Marian shrine (with a largest Basilica dedicated to Our Lady), built to commemorate the religious events of 1917 when three shepherd children reported several apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of "Our Lady of the Rosary". The children - Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Blessed Jacinta and Francisco Marto - experienced the reported Marian apparitions in a pasture called Cova da Iria.
The economy of the town relies on religious tourism. Fátima now attracts hosts of believers from far and wide, particularly on the pilgrimage days, and the shrine has been developed on a correspondingly large scale. The town has a considerable number of shops and stalls selling all kinds of religious articles, and the streets of the town have plenty of hotels, hostels and restaurants.
The Marian shrine of Our Lady of Fátima attracts a large number of Catholics, and every year pilgrims fill the country road that leads to the shrine with crowds that approach one million on May 13 and October 13, the significant dates of Fátima apparitions.[2]
On the far side of the esplanade rises the gigantic basilica, in neo-classical style, with a central tower 65 metres (213 ft) high, the construction of which was begun on 13 May 1928. It is flanked by colonnades linking it with the extensive conventual and hospital buildings. In the basilica are the tombs of the three seers, Jacinta and Francisco Marto, who died in 1919 and 1920 respectively in the Spanish flu pandemic, and were beatified in 2000, and Lúcia dos Santos who died in 2005. The Church of the Most Holy Trinity, one of the largest churches in the world, was built on the other side of the esplanade during the 2000s.
Fátima's major sports club is the Centro Desportivo de Fátima, currently in Portuguese football's second tier, the Liga Vitalis.