Today we spent the whole day in and around Fatima. Weather was not as good as yesterday - cool and cloudy with brief periods of light rain - but not enough to dampen our spirits. We started this second day with Mass at the Chapel of The Angel of Peace in the Fatima Sanctuary, a more intimate and simple chapel but with a beautiful embossed cross. For many of us, the Mass is an opportunity for reflection and the highlight of our day.
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Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary and Fatima Plaza.
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In the area where the three children had visions of Our Lady, there is now an impressive compound with a huge open plaza for the multitudes that come to honor Mary. The original Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (currently closed for renovation) is on one side and the new Church of the Most Holy Trinity that recently opened is on the other, with the open-ended Chapel of Apparitions covering the area where the actual vision occurred on the side.
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Tombs of Jacinta and Lucia.
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Tomb of Francisco.
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Even though the Basilica of the Holy Rosary is closed for renovation, we were still able to view the tombs of the three children, including Sister Lucia who died in 2005 at the age of 97. Jacinta and Francisco were canonized in 2000 and Lucia is currently being considered for canonization.
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Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity.
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Beautiful Mosaics.
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We briefly visited the new Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity. Even though it is quite modern and a dramatic departure from most European churches (and there is still controversy regarding it's design), most of us were quite impressed with the unusual cross and the amazing altar with mosaics covered in gold leaf.
Now back on the bus to visit the small town of Aljustrel in the parish of Fatima (a short distance from the Fatima Sanctuary) where the three shepherds (seers) lived and where they had visions of an angel prior to their visions of Our Lady.
Lucia was born in 1907, so she was about 10 years old, and Francisco and Jacinta were 9 and 7 years old when they experienced their first vision on May 13, 1917. They were told by Our Lady to come back on the 13th of each of the next 5 months for additional visions. They did so and saw Our Lady on the 13th of June, July, Sept and Oct. In August, they were prevented from going to the Cova da Iria (site of visions- current site of Chapel of Apparitions) by a local administrator, but they did have a vision in Aljustrel on Aug 19 (Obviously Our Lady doesn't have location or date constraints!).
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| Entering Aljustrel |
Aljustrel is a pretty little town, but it was probably quite different 100 years ago (certainly no tourist shops).
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| House of Jacinta and Francisco |
The homes of the three children seemed fairly comfortable, but very small for a large family.
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| House of Lucia |
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| In Home of Jacinta and Francisco |
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| Lucia's Bedroom |
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| Jacinta and Francisco's bedroom |
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| Location of the Visions of an Angel Near the Children's Homes |
We also were able to see the site of several visions of an angel that occurred near the childrens' homes
It's early afternoon and time for another bus ride and a visit to Coimbra, about an hour ride from Fatima. It is a beautiful city and a college town, with students who are very proud of the capes they wear to special events. We really enjoyed our visit here, and it is one of the places where we would like to come back and spend more time.
The main reason we went to Coimbra is that it is also the location of the Carmelite convent of St Teresa, where Sister Lucia of Jesus lived from 1948 until her death in 2005. Lucia Santos professed her perpetual vows in 1934 (at the age of 27) and became a sister of St. Dorothy. In 1948, she entered the Carmelite convent in Coimbra and made her profession as a Discalced Carmelite (or Barefoot Carmelite, an order established by St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross).
We began by visiting a wonderful memorial to honor Sister Lucia. It contained very interesting memorabilia, photos, rosaries, letters, and information about her hobbies such as needlework and stamp collecting. While we could not actually enter the convent of St. Teresa, we were able to visit the convent's chapel which has a beautiful altar and artwork. It was interesting to know that since this is a cloistered convent, the sisters stay behind the grates seen in the picture during the mass so they cannot be seen by any of the people attending.
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| Church of the Holy Cross (Santa Cruz). |
Next we visited the Church of the Holy Cross (or the Church of Santa Cruz) built in the Manueline style in the 16th century. This church was granted the status of national monument since the first two kings of Portugal are buried there.
The baroque tiles which cover the walls and the baroque organ were particularly impressive. Also the pulpit is considered one of the finest pieces of renaissance work in Portugal.
We all then had a bit of free time to explore this beautiful town and do some shopping or get a coffee or gelato. Note the student dolls with capes in the shop window.
It's already late in the afternoon but we are not done yet. We head back to Fatima and arrive only a few minutes before dinner. After dinner we had our group meeting to discuss the day, but it was already 9:00 pm and some of us wanted to go back to the Apparitions Chapel for the Rosary and Processions. We went with John Gomez, who did not go the previous evening, and he commented that he was so glad he went. This evening was shorter than the previous one since the host was not carried in the procession. But in addition to the cross, the statue of the Virgin was carried. The crowd seemed larger - perhaps 4000 people.
So we have now completed another busy but grace-filled day and late night.
We briefly visited the new Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity. Even though it is quite modern and a dramatic departure from most European churches (and there is still controversy regarding it's design), most of us were quite impressed with the unusual cross and the amazing altar with mosaics covered in gold leaf. 
Lucia was born in 1907, so she was about 10 years old, and Francisco and Jacinta were 9 and 7 years old when they experienced their first vision on May 13, 1917. They were told by Our Lady to come back on the 13th of each of the next 5 months for additional visions. They did so and saw Our Lady on the 13th of June, July, Sept and Oct. In August, they were prevented from going to the Cova da Iria (site of visions- current site of Chapel of Apparitions) by a local administrator, but they did have a vision in Aljustrel on Aug 19 (Obviously Our Lady doesn't have location or date constraints!).
The main reason we went to Coimbra is that it is also the location of the Carmelite convent of St Teresa, where Sister Lucia of Jesus lived from 1948 until her death in 2005. Lucia Santos professed her perpetual vows in 1934 (at the age of 27) and became a sister of St. Dorothy. In 1948, she entered the Carmelite convent in Coimbra and made her profession as a Discalced Carmelite (or Barefoot Carmelite, an order established by St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross). 
We began by visiting a wonderful memorial to honor Sister Lucia. It contained very interesting memorabilia, photos, rosaries, letters, and information about her hobbies such as needlework and stamp collecting. While we could not actually enter the convent of St. Teresa, we were able to visit the convent's chapel which has a beautiful altar and artwork. It was interesting to know that since this is a cloistered convent, the sisters stay behind the grates seen in the picture during the mass so they cannot be seen by any of the people attending.
We all then had a bit of free time to explore this beautiful town and do some shopping or get a coffee or gelato. Note the student dolls with capes in the shop window.
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