Fátima, Portugal
Fátima (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfatimɐ] ⓘ) is a city in the municipality of Ourém and district of Santarém in the Central Region of Portugal, with 71.29 km2 of area and 13,212 inhabitants (2021). The homonymous civil parish encompasses several villages and localities of which the city of Fátima is the largest.
Fátima | |
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From top left to right: The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima, the main avenue in Cova da Iria, the Basilica of the Holy Trinity, house of Francisco and Jacinta Marto in Aljustrel and the Hungarian Calvary in Valinhos. | |
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Flag Coat of arms | |
Fátima Location in Portugal | |
| Coordinates: 39°37′32″N 08°39′57″W | |
| Country | Portugal |
| Region | Centro |
| Intermunic. comm. | Médio Tejo |
| District | Santarém |
| Municipality | Ourém |
| Area | |
| • Total | 71.29 km2 (27.53 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 356 m (1,168 ft) |
| Population (2021) | |
| • Total | 13,212 |
| Time zone | UTC±00:00 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+01:00 (WEST) |
| Postal code | 2495 |
| Area code | 249 |
| Patron | Our Lady of Pleasures Our Lady of Fátima |
| Website | www.freguesiadefatima.pt |
The civil parish has been permanently associated with Our Lady of Fátima, a series of 1917 Marian apparitions that were purportedly witnessed by three local shepherd children at the Cova da Iria. The Catholic Church later recognized these events as "worthy of belief". A small chapel was built at the site of the apparition in 1919, and a statue of Mary installed. The chapel and statue have since been enclosed within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima, a shrine complex containing two minor basilicas. Associated facilities for pilgrims, including a hotel and medical centre, have also been built over the decades within and around the Sanctuary. The city has become an important international destination for religious tourists, receiving between 6 and 8 million pilgrims yearly.