Inside the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary

In what used to be a sleepy town of Fatima, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to three shepherd children and spoke with them. She had a few messages but also had a few requests. One of them was to pray the rosary. The praying of the rosary has been customarily used by Catholics to contemplate the life of Mary with Christ. This wasn’t the first time that the rosary was associated with Mary, in fact, it has been the case from the thirteenth century. Because of this, Mary has been given the title of Our Lady of the Rosary. Being an apparition site, it is probably only fitting that a church be built here for Our Lady of the Rosary.

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary is the centerpiece of the Fatima complex. It is the most prominent church here and it is usually the first church which pilgrims go to. I actually bypassed it and visited the basilica on my way out of Fatima. From the outside, the basilica is very tall, however it didn’t appear to be very large until I went in. It was actually larger than it looked from the outside probably because of the height of the tower. What can be immediately seen is how white the basilica is from the inside. This is to represent the purity of Mary. The color also helps to brighten up the place. There are round arches everywhere representing a Romanesque design. If one pays attention to the stained glass windows, these represent the events that happened in Fatima.

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