Fatima was quite an amazing experience, an expression I'll probably overuse in the next few weeks. I have taken too many pictures to post and the iPad is not cooperating anyway. Whatever pictures have been posted have been done at home by my darling daughter Caitee.
We visited Fatima on August 13, 94 years to the day of one of the apparitions of Our Lady to the children. Want the history? Try the official site http://fatima.org or for a brief overview Wikipedia is ok.
The first thing you notice, aside from the statue of the crucifix is the large square and the people doing penance dragging themselves, or walking on their knees toward the Chapel. We eventually situated our group half way down the square near the statue. By the time Mass commenced the square was full. Someone estimated around 80,000 people. Mass went for 3 hours. The procession of the Priests and the statue of Mary was a sight to behold. At the offertory, many people came forward with offers of gifts - bags of grain, that will be distributed to the poor.
The Cathedral was beautiful, as would be expected. It too, was crowded with pilgrims and there was a significant queue to see inside.
We concluded the day with an 'international Rosary'. There five different languages used and all members of the congregation reply in their own language.
Although it was humbling to see the faith and devotion of many people at Fatima, I find such large scale worship challenging. Maybe I'm getting too old, but I prefer the quiet and reverence associated with a Chapel or Church. But, I never have been a fan of crowds. Our pilgrims loved the day and many were moved by their experience.
Then we trundles back to our coach for the 4 hour drive home.
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