Today is a message of faith.
As a part of a community of believers, I feel that no tour in Portugal will be complete without traveling to the world-renowned pilgrimage site of Fatima. A journey around the world, after all, is an intermingling of encounters amidst beautiful architecture and culture where history and religion usually takes center stage.
Style Details
Dress | TOPSHOP
Clutch Bag | JIMMY CHOO
Sunglasses | DKNY
My delightful road trip to Fatima, from the The Oitavos Hotel in the Portuguese Riviera town of Cascais, took about a 2-hour drive preceding our arrival in the humble municipality of Fatima. For those unawares, Fatima is a Catholic sanctuary dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus after her sacred apparitions to three young Portuguese shepherds in the year 1917 in the Cova da Iria Parish of Fatima at the township of Vila Nova de Ourem, Portugal. Upon witnessing apocalyptic visions and prophecies from “a Lady more brilliant than the sun from whose hands hung a white rosary”, the children are later called the Seers of Fatima.
At a time of desolation and war, Mother Mary appeared to the seers entrusting them with three secrets involving hell, World War 1 & World War II, and a specific request to dedicate Russia to the Immaculate Heart of Mary as the end of communism is believed to ultimately pave the way for world peace.
For me, the Shrine of Fatima in Portugal is, hands down, one of the holiest spaces I’ve been to so far. The main square, being twice the size of St. Peter’s in Rome, has the kind of deafening tranquility that is so deep and matchless… the kind you feel when you are surrounded by absolute purity. In my constant struggle in deepening my faith, I’d like to say that I always try my best to recognize the Holy Spirit’s movements and here, in Fatima, He is so incredibly present. I was fundamentally in awe in what I saw and in how I felt. In such a self-effacing place, one would not expect such an intense rush of emotion. Yet, even as I was going through my photos, I can tell that God was there. To have known that at one point in time, the Lady of the Rosary appeared in this very space was an immeasurable experience.
Though it was winter in Portugal, the breeze felt like spring. My flowery dress, for me, signifies all the times that my own relationship with Mother Mary resulted in blossoms. I’ve always believed that those who have faith are lucky. And here, at the Shrine of Fatima, it was immaculately enduring.
Historic and iconic, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima continues to resonate in its crown. A pilgrimage here and to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary is nothing short of ordinary. Never did the saying “prayers changes lives” felt so real. Exuding in a serene quietude, the shrine is harmonious as it is powerful. Look through and feel the peace with me.
