History

The history of Fátima is permanently associated with three children: Lúcia and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who on May 13, 1917, were tending their flock under the holm oaks in a place called Cova da Iria and witnessed a flash of light, the apparition of a "Lady dressed in white," where the Chapel of the Apparitions now stands. Appearing to the children, the Blessed Virgin Mary said she had been sent by God with a message for every man, woman, and child in our century. She appeared at a time when civilization was suffering from war and bloody violence and promised that Heaven would grant peace to the world if her requests for prayer, reparation, and consecration were heard and obeyed.

Our Lady of Fátima explained to the children that war is a punishment for sin and warned that God would continue punishing the world for its disobedience to His Will through war, famine, and the persecution of the Church, the Holy Father, and the faithful Catholics.

The Virgin asked them to pray a lot for the good of the world and announced that she would return during the following months, on the 13th of each month. The last Apparition took place in October, witnessed by about 70,000 pilgrims who saw the Miracle of the Sun.

The Message of Our Lady to the world is based on what has come to be called the "secret" she entrusted to the three visionary children in July 1917. The secret actually consists of three parts. The first part was a horrifying vision of hell "where the souls of poor sinners go." The second part of the secret specifically prophesied the beginning of the Second World War. The final part of the secret (often called the "Third Secret") was written by Lúcia dos Santos in 1944 and has been in the possession of the Holy See since 1957.

Years later, Sister Lúcia also recounted that between April and October 1916, an Angel had appeared to the three visionaries three times, twice at Loca do Cabeço and once near the well in the yard of Lúcia's house, inviting them to prayer and penance.

To mark the place of the Apparitions, a wooden arch with a cross was built. The small tree gradually disappeared, taken by pilgrims. On August 6, 1918, with alms from the faithful, the construction of a small chapel in honor of Our Lady began, made of stone and lime, covered with tiles, measuring 3.30 meters long, 2.80 meters wide, and 2.85 meters high. It was the first building of the current prayer area.