Marian Shrines Fatima Pilgrimage Hub Catholic Church

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary

The first basilica of Fatima, with the tombs of the shepherd children and the resting place of Sister Lucia at the eastern head of the sanctuary esplanade.

Best For
  • Praying at the tombs of Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto
  • Praying at the tomb of Sister Lucia dos Santos
  • Attending pilgrim Mass at the principal liturgical church of the sanctuary
  • Reading the colonnade and facade in light of the Fatima message
  • Pairing the Chapel of the Apparitions with its liturgical counterpart
Why This Place Matters

The Basilica at the Head of the Cova

Do not miss
  1. The tomb of Saint Jacinta Marto — In the left aisle of the nave. Jacinta died in Lisbon in 1920 at the age of nine, after a long illness she offered for the conversion of sinners and for the Holy Father.
  2. The tomb of Saint Francisco Marto — In the right aisle of the nave, opposite his sister. Francisco died at Aljustrel in 1919 at the age of ten, offering his sufferings for sinners as Our Lady had asked.
  3. The tomb of Sister Lucia dos Santos — Transferred from the Carmel of Coimbra to the basilica in 2017. Her cause for canonization is open and she has been declared Venerable; she is not yet canonized.
  4. The high altar and the Rosary mystery altars — Fifteen side altars line the nave, dedicated to the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries of the Rosary.
  5. The colonnade enclosing the esplanade — Long curved arcades flank the basilica on both sides. Walk a part of one on the way back to the Chapel of the Apparitions to see how the sanctuary is gathered.

The first basilica of the Fatima sanctuary, raised at the eastern head of the esplanade in answer to the request that a chapel be built at the Cova da Iria. Begun in 1928 and consecrated in 1953, it holds the tombs of Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto in the side aisles of the nave, and the tomb of Sister Lucia dos Santos, transferred from Coimbra in 2017.

Facade of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary at the Cova da Iria in Fatima
Reis Quarteu / Wikimedia Commons
At the Head of the Esplanade

The Basilica and the Colonnade

The basilica rises at the eastern head of the esplanade, flanked by the long colonnade that encloses the praying place of the Cova da Iria.

Story and Architecture

The Church in Its Place

The Lady of the 1917 apparitions asked at the Cova da Iria that a chapel be built in her honour. The small Chapel of the Apparitions answered that request first, in 1919. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary was conceived in the years after the apparitions as a larger church for pilgrim Masses, set at the eastern head of the new esplanade. The bishop of Leiria laid the foundation stone on 13 May 1928, the eleventh anniversary of the first apparition. The basilica was consecrated by Cardinal Manuel Goncalves Cerejeira, Patriarch of Lisbon, on 7 October 1953, the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, and was raised to the dignity of a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII on 11 November 1954. Jacinta Marto's body was transferred here in 1951 and Francisco's in 1952, and the tomb of Sister Lucia was added in 2017, twelve years after her death at the Carmel of Coimbra. The basilica was the principal church of the sanctuary until the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, at the western end of the esplanade, was completed in 2007.

The basilica was designed in a neoclassical style by the Dutch architect Gerardus Samuel van Krieken and continued after his death by Joao Antunes. A single bell tower rises 65 metres above the facade, topped by a great bronze crown and a crystal cross that is lit at night. A statue of the Immaculate Heart of Mary stands above the entrance, with statues of the four great Doctors of the Western Church and other patrons of Portugal arranged in niches across the facade. The interior holds a single long nave with side aisles, finished in marble and lined with fifteen altars dedicated to the joyful, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries of the Rosary. The long, curved colonnade that flanks the basilica on both sides was added in stages between 1953 and 1958 and encloses the esplanade on the eastern half of the Cova da Iria.

The basilica is meant to be the liturgical and devotional counterpart of the small Chapel of the Apparitions across the esplanade. Where the chapel is open and exposed at the place of the apparitions, the basilica is enclosed and ordered toward Mass, confession, and the tombs. The two together hold the rhythm of Fatima: the place where the message was given, and the place where the witnesses are buried and the Mass is offered.

When You Are There

What to Notice

These are the details that turn a visit into an encounter.

  • The basilica and the Chapel of the Apparitions stand at opposite ends of the same praying place. Read them together: the chapel marks the message given, the basilica receives the witnesses who lived it.
  • Francisco and Jacinta Marto are buried inside this basilica. They were beatified in 2000 by Saint John Paul II and canonized by Pope Francis on the centenary of the apparitions, 13 May 2017.
  • Sister Lucia's tomb is treated with care in the sanctuary's language. Her cause for canonization is open; she is Venerable, not yet canonized, and the inscription reflects that.
  • The facade carries statues of the four great Doctors of the Western Church and of patrons of Portugal. The bell tower is topped by a bronze crown and a crystal cross that is lit at night.
  • The colonnade is unusually long for a single sanctuary church. It was added in the years just after the basilica's consecration and is part of what makes the Cova da Iria a single liturgical space.
Connected Saints

Saints Associated With This Place

Buried in the right aisle of the nave; received the 1917 apparitions at the Chapel of the Apparitions across the esplanade

Saint Francisco Marto

Born in Aljustrel in 1908, Francisco was nine years old at the time of the apparitions. He died of influenza in 1919 at the age of ten, having offered his sufferings for sinners and for the conversion of those who did not believe. His body was transferred to this basilica in 1952. He was canonized by Pope Francis on 13 May 2017.

Buried in the left aisle of the nave; the youngest non martyr saint canonized by the Church

Saint Jacinta Marto

Born in Aljustrel in 1910, Jacinta was seven years old at the time of the apparitions and the youngest of the three children. She died in Lisbon in 1920 at the age of nine, after a long illness she offered for the conversion of sinners and for the Holy Father. Her body was transferred to this basilica in 1951. She was canonized by Pope Francis on 13 May 2017.

Eldest of the three children; her tomb was transferred from Coimbra to the basilica in 2017

Venerable Lucia dos Santos

Born in Aljustrel in 1907, Lucia was ten years old at the time of the apparitions and the eldest of the three children. She entered the Sisters of Saint Dorothy and later transferred to the Discalced Carmelites at Coimbra, where she lived from 1948 until her death in 2005. Her cause for canonization is open and she has been declared Venerable. She is not yet canonized.

Plan Your Time

How Long to Give It

30 Minutes

Enter the basilica, walk up the nave, and pause at the tombs of Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto and at the tomb of Sister Lucia. Pray a decade of the Rosary between them before you leave.

1 Hour

As above, plus time at the high altar, a slow reading of the Rosary mystery altars along the nave, and a walk along the colonnade outside.

Half Day

Add Mass at the high altar or a side altar, confession in the chaplaincy nearby, and a return walk across the esplanade to the Chapel of the Apparitions for the Rosary.

Suggested Visit Rhythm

Read the basilica together with the Chapel of the Apparitions at the other end of the esplanade. Begin or end at the tombs, attend Mass if it falls within your visit, and let the long nave between the tombs and the high altar give the Fatima visit its liturgical centre. The colonnade outside is part of the praying place rather than only an architectural feature.

Plan Your Visit

Suggested Ways to Visit

Use these as simple visit sequences. Check current schedules and access before you go.

30 to 45 minutes

A First Visit to the Basilica

Pilgrims who want to pray at the tombs of the shepherd children and Sister Lucia without rushing.

A focused visit to the nave, the three tombs, and the high altar, ending with a slow walk along the colonnade.

  1. Climb the steps from the esplanade and enter the basilica through the central doors.
  2. Walk up the nave and pause at the tomb of Saint Jacinta Marto in the left aisle.
  3. Cross the nave to the tomb of Saint Francisco Marto in the right aisle, and to the tomb of Sister Lucia nearby.
  4. Pray a decade of the Rosary in the nave between the tombs.
  5. Leave through the side door and walk a part of the colonnade back toward the Chapel of the Apparitions.
Half day

The Basilica with the Chapel of the Apparitions

Pilgrims who want the chapel and the basilica together as a single visit.

Walk the esplanade from the chapel to the basilica, pray at the tombs, attend Mass if available, and return to the chapel for the evening Rosary.

  1. Begin at the Chapel of the Apparitions with the Rosary and a candle for a named intention.
  2. Walk east across the esplanade and climb the steps to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary.
  3. Pray at the tombs of Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto and at the tomb of Sister Lucia.
  4. Attend Mass at the high altar or in a side altar if it falls within your visit.
  5. Return across the esplanade to the chapel for the evening Rosary, and to the candlelight procession during the pilgrimage season.
Full day

Pilgrim Mass on the Thirteenth

Pilgrims who can plan their visit around the principal pilgrim Mass on the 13th of the month.

Plan the visit around the pilgrim Mass at the basilica, paired with the evening Rosary and candlelight procession at the Chapel of the Apparitions.

  1. Arrive at the sanctuary early in the morning and visit the Chapel of the Apparitions.
  2. Move to the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary in time for the pilgrim Mass.
  3. Pray at the tombs of Saints Francisco and Jacinta Marto and of Sister Lucia after Mass.
  4. Rest in the town in the afternoon and return for the evening Rosary at the chapel.
  5. Join the candlelight procession that ends in front of the chapel.
Nearby

Nearby Sacred Places

The basilica is read together with the rest of the Fatima sanctuary. The Chapel of the Apparitions, the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, and the homes of the shepherd children at Aljustrel each open out from its tombs into the wider Fatima pilgrimage.

Shrine

Chapel of the Apparitions

Sanctuary of Fatima

The small open chapel at the spot of the 1917 apparitions, across the esplanade from the basilica.

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Shrine

Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima

Cova da Iria, Fatima, Portugal

The enclosed sanctuary that gathers the chapel, the two basilicas, the chaplaincy, and the colonnade into a single praying place.

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City_hub

Catholic Fatima

Fatima, Portugal

The city hub for Fatima, with the sanctuary, the homes of the shepherd children at Aljustrel, and the secondary apparition sites at Valinhos and Loca do Cabeco.

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Church

Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity

Sanctuary of Fatima

The large modern basilica at the western end of the esplanade, completed in 2007 for the largest pilgrim gatherings.

Destination

Aljustrel

Near Fatima, Portugal

The hamlet two kilometres south of the sanctuary where the three shepherd children were born and raised.

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Practical Notes

Relevant Details

Address
Sanctuary of Fatima, eastern head of the esplanade, 2495-424 Fatima, Portugal
Type
Minor basilica within an active Marian sanctuary
Visit length
30 to 60 minutes for the basilica and the tombs, longer with Mass and confession
Best time
Mid morning between pilgrim Masses, or the 13th of each month for the principal pilgrim Mass at Fatima
Dress code
Shoulders and knees covered; modest dress is expected throughout the sanctuary
Photography
Permitted with discretion in the nave; silence is asked for during Mass and at the tombs
Cost
Free admission to the basilica
Accessibility
Steps to the main entrance from the esplanade; level access from the side entrances and from the lower colonnade level
Getting there
Across the esplanade from the Chapel of the Apparitions; about ten minutes on foot from the centre of Fatima town
Official Church Site

The basilica's tombs are described here according to the current status of each person in the life of the Church. Francisco and Jacinta Marto were beatified in 2000 and canonized in 2017. Sister Lucia dos Santos, the eldest of the three children, was declared Venerable in 2023 by Pope Francis. Her cause for canonization is open and she is not yet canonized; the basilica's signage and the sanctuary's liturgical references reflect that distinction.

Photo: Reis Quarteu / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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