Taken September 13, 2017, the 100th anniversary of the penultimate apparition of the Virgin Mary to the three shepherd children in World War I-era Fatima, Portugal. This is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima, or Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima, if you prefer "em português."
This is the site of the Fatima apparitions, when on the 13th of each month, over a six-month time period from May to October 1917, three young shepherd experienced a vision of the Virgin Mary. "Experienced" is the correct word as not all actually saw Mary herself. (If my memory is correct, only Lucia both saw and heard the Virgin Mary. I could be wrong. Accounts vary.)
Fatima, to me, is the most interesting and most compelling of the Marian apparitions. Two of the visionaries, Francisco and Jacinta, are buried within the Basilica. Francisco and Jacinta both died within a few years of the apparitions. They were canonized as saints earlier in 2017. The third visionary, Lucia, outlived her cousins by several decades, passing away in 2005 at the age of 97. She is well along the path toward canonization.
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