Fatima

The view from our hotel room

We went to Fatima on our honeymoon in June. We arrived there in the night with D.'s Uncle and we stayed at the Pax Hotel. It was a large hotel, and the nicest one we stayed at apart from the Montochoro in the Algarve. However, the sleeping arrangements were far from ideal!

Two single beds = one double room

I did sleep very soundly that night! I think as a newlywed the hardest thing to get used to is sharing a bed with another person. 

Outside the older church at Fatima

Fatima was the most overwhelming place I have ever visited in my life. I have literally never seen so many people in one place before. The odor of melting wax, like the inside of a Catholic church on a hot day, was everywhere.

The line-up for candle offerings

I soon found out that many, many people burn candles and wax offerings at a huge pyre very close to the spot where our Lady appeared. People actually had  wax models representing illnesses and maladies affecting the body. I learned about this practice when studying Medieval Europe and I was half-shocked and half-pleased to see it with my own eyes. 

The first chapel built over the place of the apparition

The smell is really almost overpowering, and the heat from the huge fires is scorching. I found it was hard to pray surrounded by so many other people but we did light candles and place them among the racks. 

We visited the new Cathedral first.

 The new Cathedral at Fatima

The building is very simple and contemporary. Lots of people hate the look of it but I was intrigued to see a new style of architecture being used for such a purpose. The crucified Christ outside the new church is also in a more contemporary style and D. didn't like it much.

 The interior of the new Cathedral

The space between the old church and the new church is used by pilgrims who crawl on their knees to the spot our Lady appeared.

The long area between the two churches

I would estimate they crawl for a half a kilometre all the way around the shrine. I didn’t take pictures of the people out of respect – I was a little horrified by what they were doing, but mostly I was in awe of their personal sacrifice and religious devotion. It seemed to me that I could never crawl so far on my knees. But when I saw a young mother crawling with her infant, I knew that she was there in thanksgiving for an answered prayer and I was overcome with emotion. I know what it is to pray for something for years and years and finally receive that gift. 

The old Church

The old church was in a more traditional style. There were so many people present that it was difficult to pray in peace there.

The interior of the old church

For this reason I preferred the other churches we had visited that were comparatively vacant and peaceful. We did take a few moments to sit and see what people had made in devotion to the Virgin - it is amazing what hands can do. 

The altar in the old church

It was such an honour to go somewhere so special on my honeymoon.  

All in all, I enjoyed the experience but I felt overwhelmed most of the day and by the afternoon with the heat and the crowds I was glad to leave.