Fatima

About

This small agricultural town owes its fame to three shepherd children who, in 1917, saw monthly visions of the Virgin Mary in the Cova da Iria pasture, the last of which brought an estimated 70,000 pilgrims. Today, the site is marked by the Basílica de Fátima, where pilgrims come on the 13th of every month to honor the Virgin and her young visionaries. On the 100th anniversary of the event, Pope Francis canonized 2 of the children who died during the Spanish Flu pandemic. Today the village’s main landmarks revolve around the event, and visiting the Sanctuary built on the site of Cova da Iria, or the homes of the children is an interesting experience even for non-believers.