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Published: September 5th 2016
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Day 7 - August 30, 2016 – Tomar, Portugal - Rest Day – 0.00 Miles Boy did it feel good to sleep in today. After having a fantastic breakfast at our hotel we made our way to the bus station to catch a bus to Fatima to view the sanctuary that included Our Lady of Fatima, the old basilica, the new religious center and a piece of the Berlin Wall. Upon arrival at the sanctuary we made our way over to the new religious center where we viewed a mass going on which was standing room only.
After leaving the new religious center we walked over to an area where we saw people throwing candles into the flames of what appeared to be a furnace. We also saw pilgrims after a special indulgence proceeding on their knees to what we think ended at the Chapel of Apparition. After stopping at the Chapel of Apparition which also had a mass going on we proceeded over to the old basilica and then to an area displaying a piece of the Berlin Wall. In doing some research on why the piece of the Berlin Wall was brought to the sanctuary we learned
there had been predictions coming out of Fatima that communism would fail in Eastern Europe.
After leaving the sanctuary which was totally amazing we found a café to have lunch before catching the bus back to Tomar. Upon arrival in Tomar we walked back to our hotel to rest before heading out to dinner that night. We had dinner that night at a place the owner of our hotel recommended. Upon arrival back at the hotel, we got a chance to take a picture of the bedding or what we called the "ghost sheets" that had been hung to dry.
Below is some history regarding Fatima courtesy of Portugal.com website.
“Fatima is a town and Parish located 142 km (88 miles) North of Lisbon. Fatima is one of the most important catholic shrines in the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Fatima’s Sanctuary welcomes millions of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. Fatima’s fame is due to the Apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary that appeared to three shepherd children; Lucia dos Santos and her two younger cousins, Francisco and Jacinta. Between May and October of 1917, the three children witnessed several apparitions. The
last one, on October 13th, was confirmed by a miracle witnessed by 60,000 people known in the catholic world as “the day the sun danced”.
Fatima now attracts thousands of pilgrims from all over the world, particularly on the pilgrimage days in May and October. The large torch-light processions in the evening are particularly impressive, often lead by Cardinals and Bishops. The pilgrims gather in Cova de Iria an enormous plaza where a little chapel was built and where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to the children. Around the plaza are a considerable number of shops and stalls selling various religious articles. On the far side of the plaza rises the great basilica, built in the in neo-classical style, with a central tower 65 meters high, the construction of which was begun on 13 of May 1928. It is flanked by colonnades linking it with the extensive convent and hospital buildings. In the basilica are the tombs of two of the three visionaries, siblings Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who died in 1919 and 1920 respectively, and were beatified in 1970. The third seer, Lucia dos Santos, died in 2005.”
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