Fátima — the Cova da Iria

OVERVIEW

The Cova da Iria is a field outside the village of Fátima in the Ourém district of central Portugal. Between 13 May and 13 October 1917, three shepherd children — Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto — reported apparitions of a Lady there.

HISTORY

The children said the Lady had promised a sign in October that would make people believe. On 13 October a crowd generally estimated in the high tens of thousands gathered in heavy rain. What was reported afterwards, and is known as the Miracle of the Sun, was the sun appearing to spin, change colour and plunge towards the earth. The local bishop opened a canonical investigation in November 1917 to take witness accounts. The priest conducting it was particularly struck by the fact that the testimony of extraordinary solar phenomena agreed across **secular reporters, government officials and declared sceptics** who had come to watch the thing fail. Bishop José Alves Correia da Silva declared the events worthy of belief in 1930.

REPORTED ACTIVITY

Francisco and Jacinta Marto both died in the influenza pandemic within three years; Lúcia became a nun and published memoirs in the 1930s setting out the secrets, the third of which the Church released in 2000. Proposed natural explanations include a sundog, atmospheric optics and the effects of staring at the sun. The entry records the largest reported mass-witness event on this map, the enquiry that took the testimony, and the fact that some of the most useful witnesses had come to disprove it.

VISITING

The sanctuary is open and free, with the Chapel of the Apparitions on the spot. Very large pilgrimages on 13 May and 13 October. A place of active devotion.