A day devoted to the Faith in Fatima, Portugal

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Fatima
Rita and I had also planned the trip to Lisbon to visit this place, one of the holiest shrines of the Catholic religion, of course our visit was more of the purposes of tourist pilgrimage.
On the morning of 11 October 2010 with the underground, destination Jardim Zoologico (decorated with tiles depicting cute animals), we went to the bus terminal Rodoviaria (next to the train station Sete Rios), to take the bus to Fatima, we consulted on Web times from London, we knew that a part of almost every hour.
The buses are convenient and direct, it takes approximately 1 hour and a half to reach their destination, and then along a short stretch of road, across the country (which does not seem to offer many attractions), we arrive at the Cova da Iria, site of the apparitions
We arrived in a large rectangular square, paved along about 500-600 meters wide and about 200, there is a lot of people and appears almost deserted, considering the size of the spaces.
The buildings are located on either side, quite low, almost all white and very modern.
We start our way to visit the Basilica, neoclassical building with a tall bell tower set on a monumental staircase, all I think of white marble, the sides a beautiful neo-classical colonnade
Note the shift, with slabs of marble, which is reserved to the faithful who travel on their knees, and ending almost in front of the Chapel of Apparitions.
The chapel of the apparitions, it is the holiest place, built of glass with concrete structure inside the tiny chapel and the marble column that indicates the exact location of the apparitions of the Virgin, described by the shepherds as "a lady more brilliant the sun "in front of the statue where Pope John Paul a snap of the bullets extracted from his body. Within religious services are held continuously (rosaries, masses, prayers, songs), needless to say is the most popular, in fact, we saw always full of pilgrims in prayer and meditation.
We pass the fiery furnace where the faithful are laying the candles as a sign of devotion.
We head towards the Basilica dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, a white building, like almost all of the shrine complex, not very big, considering that every year millions of people flock to the Shrine.
Visitors will have to get in line, the inside is white, passing to the fifteen altars, dedicated to the mysteries of the rosary, walking from right to left, we see the chapels where there are tombstones funeral of the three shepherd children.
We dwell briefly on the benches of the church (in this case there is no need to wait in line)
The whole complex is very simple. The Fatima message is simple do not go to see works of art.
We leave the church to continue the tour, we pass the white statues of the two shepherds (Francisco and Jacinta Marto) located in a small raised lawn, then go to the church of the Holy Trinity, a large complex located on the opposite side of the Basilica
And 'round, white marble, very large (about 130 meters in diameter), when I arrived on the square, from a distance, I had mistaken for a convention center, the square outside the church a large and high metal cross dark style of art, and statues of Pope John Paul II and Paul VI, the Popes who went on pilgrimage to the place, then a beautiful porch entrance with sculptures of angels, suspended between two beams, the port is dedicated bronze Christ, the side panels that explain the mysteries of the rosary, there are 12 other bronze doors are always dedicated to the apostles,
We enter the church and then the walls are white, one aisle of circular shape with a diameter of about 130 m, only one altar in the center of the wall, with a large rectangular mosaic depicting the heavenly Jerusalem and the saints, of gold. The mosaic is inspired by the Apocalypse of St. John, I found it divided into two parts and is very complex, all that is represented has implications with specific references to complex theological light, as a manifestation of God, a concept already present in Plato, which inspired the architects of Gothic cathedrals and particular Chartres.
God is represented in the mosaic dall'Agnello, the Saints left and right are depicted with different colors, to communicate that were illuminated by light from God and then, of course, there are references to Fatima.
Above the altar a large bronze crucifix Christ.
Then we go down to the basement where we see a long hallway with walls covered with azulejo scenes from the life of Saints Peter and Paul, from the hallway leads to a series of chapels and confessionals.
After visiting the shop and going to the 16 we head towards the terminal to return to Lisbon.


Ferny Forner
Rita Risoli