Faithful in Fatima

Every October the Catholic church exhorts its parishioners to say the rosary. Preferably say it all year around, but definitely this month, since it is a time dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, the Virgin who founded the ritual of the rosary; a form of prayer-chant that has inspired millions around the world.

A trip to Portugal would be incomplete without visiting Fatima, an important pilgrim centre for Catholics around the world. It is believed that the Virgin Mary appeared six times to Lucia de Jesus (10), and her cousins Francisco (9) and Jacinta Marto (7) at the Cova da Iria (Small Valley of Peace) in Portugal, on the 13th of each month from May to October 1917. The site of the apparitions (and now the site of the shrine) was once a field belonging to Lucia's family outside the village of Aljustrel near Fatima. It all started in 1916, when the Guardian Angel of Portugal appeared to the three children to prepare them for the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin the following year.Under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Virgin Mary beseeched the children to pray for peace in the world and to make sacrifices as an act of reparation for the sins by which God is offended.

The third apparition of the angel to the three children

I am not impressed by the shrine complex the first time I see it; for some reason I don't feel the sanctity of the place as others do—it's a sea of concrete below my feet and modern structures around me. People seem to be busy in their own world—some look for information, others pray at the Chapel of the Apparition (the site where Our Lady appeared to the children), while some offer candles. But what draws my attention are the people crawling on their knees, with and without knee pads, to the Chapel of the Apparition along a 182-metre path. They pray for specific needs or have come back to thank Mother Mary for favours they have received. While some crawl to the chapel and around it, others crawl all the way back as well. As I stand there and watch them, it seems like time has stopped and I find tears in my eyes for no reason.These faces, in their varying state of prayers, reminded me that faith—whether we have much of it or little, or even none at all—is still a force that can move millions.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima

Back home, I read FATIMA in Lucia's Own Words, which has records of miracles that took place in 1917. According to the book, a soldier had been ordered to leave for the front, although his wife was sick and they had three small children. Jacinta invited him to pray with her; his prayer being that either his wife be cured or that his order would be revoked. Some months later, he returned with his wife and children to thank Our Lady for the two graces he received: having gone down with fever the day before his departure, he had been released from military service and his wife had been miraculously cured. There are more incidents; Lucia's mother too fell gravely ill and the family feared for her life. The little girl placed her request before Mother Mary at Cova da Iria and went home, comforted by the hope that her prayer would be answered. On reaching home, her mother was already somewhat better and within three days was able to resume her work around the house.

Today, the place is still a hub of faith and thousands of pilgrims flock to Fatima to seek favours and to give thanks for graces received. I remember seeing a woman carrying a little boy on her shoulders, while she crawled on her knees to the Chapel of the Apparition. I assumed she was there to thank Mary for her miracle baby.

Whether or not my guess was right, each individual here becomes a story and an image of faith.