After lunch at the Nunnery: waiting for the bus
Fatima Chapel where children saw the vision
In Fatima, we went directly to the Nunery where the Nuns had a lunch ready for us. The home of the Nuns was like being back in the US. No expense spared on this facility. The bathrooms were the best ones on the whole trip. Local wine, red and white, was served with the meal. We had the typical Portugese soup which is light yellow and is a vegetable (squash??) puree. Then a pasta, which was very good and then fish, which was not so good. The fish was very salty and Fred's didn't seem to be cooked completely. The desert was fresh fruit - apples, oranges, etc.
We then went to the shrine. On May 13, 1917, 3 small children saw a vision of a "Lady" who spoke to them telling them to pray and return on 5 consecutive months on the 13th day at that hour. The apparation appeared and predicted that 2 of the children would die and they did. The principal seer, Lucia of Jesus became a Nun and is still living at age 92. She talks only to the Pope. The last vision in October 13, 1917, with 70,000 people present, the Lady identified herself as "Lady of the Rosary" and said that a chapel was to be built there in her honor.
The chapel was the first edifice constructed and the Basilica was begun in 1928. The Basilica is surrounded by 15 alters dedicated to the 15 mysteries of the Rosary.