Fatima is best known for the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three shepherd children. It took some years before the claims of the children were declared worthy of belief. It is a long process since the church doesn’t want just anyone to say that they have seen the Blessed Mother. This is also true in other apparition sites across the world. Investigations usually take a long time and some of them eventually become declared worthy of belief. Fatima is obviously one such case but at that time, there were still issues concerning the events that happened here that even the local priests would be reluctant to endorse anything.
One of the requests of the Blessed Mother was that a chapel be built here in her honor. The local priest probably only silently agreed to this pending investigation of the events. What was built was a tiny house is a chapel. There is a pillar with that statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary encased in glass right in front of it. This spot marks the exact spot that the Blessed Virgin Mary supposedly appeared. The chapel itself was tiny probably only enough for one person. This is definitely not enough for the thousands of visitors who visit the sanctuary every day. A larger chapel encompassing the site was built. This one was rather open and visitors can easily see the chapel as well as the pillar. Unfortunately, visitors won’t be able to approach the chapel itself since it is cordoned off. There are regular rosary prayers said here.
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