The Sanctuary of the Apparitions (''Santuario das Aparicións'' in Galician and ''Santuario de las Apariciones'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

) is a Catholic convent and sanctuary located in

Pontevedra Pontevedra (, ) is a Spanish city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the ''Comarca'' (County) and Province of Pontevedra, and of the Rías Baixas in Galicia. It is also the capital of its own municipality whi ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. According to

Sister Lúcia Lúcia de Jesus Rosa dos Santos, OCD, (28 March 1907 – 13 February 2005) also known as ''Lúcia of Fátima'' and by her religious name ''Maria Lúcia of Jesus and of the Immaculate Heart'', was a Portuguese Catholic Discalced Carmelite ...

, it was here that the child Jesus and the Virgin Mary appeared to her in 1925-1926 and revealed to her the

First Saturdays Devotion The First Saturdays Devotion, also called the Act of Reparation to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Catholic devotion which, according to Sister Lúcia of Fátima, was requested by the Virgin Mary in an apparition at Pontev ...

. It is the third most visited Marian pilgrimage destination in the world, with over 12 million visits recorded up to 2022. The sanctuary is known as the "Spanish Fátima".

History

The sanctuary is located at 3 Sor Lucía Street in the historic centre of Pontevedra. On the site where the sanctuary is located, there was a building from the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, of which traces of

stonemasonry Stonemasonry or stonecraft is the creation of buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone as the primary material. It is one of the oldest activities and professions in human history. Many of the long-lasting, ancient shelters, temples, mo ...

and a walled door with decorative reliefs have been preserved. The building was constructed in the mid-16th century. In the 19th century, the building was the palace of the Arias Teijeiro family (Antonio and José, father and son), the latter being a

Carlist Carlism ( eu, Karlismo; ca, Carlisme; ; ) is a Traditionalism (Spain), Traditionalist and Legitimists (disambiguation), Legitimist political movement in Spain aimed at establishing an alternative branch of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon dynasty ...

politician and universal minister. In 1918, the Marquis of Riestra rented the building to the Dorothean sisters, who opened a school there. In 1925,

, one of the three visionaries of Fátima, Portugal, became a Dorothean sister in Galicia. While in her room in this convent in Pontevedra two months after her arrival, on 10 December 1925, Sister Lucia had a vision of the

child Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, ...

and the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

with her heart surrounded by thorns. The second apparition took place on 15 February 1926 in the convent garden, where the child Jesus urged her to do more to promote the devotion. In 1927, Sister Lúcia wrote that the Virgin Mary had revealed to her the First Saturdays Devotion in 1925, which consists of going to

confession A confession is a statement – made by a person or by a group of persons – acknowledging some personal fact that the person (or the group) would ostensibly prefer to keep hidden. The term presumes that the speaker is providing information th ...

, receiving Holy Communion every first Saturday of the month for five months (in reparation for five types of

blasphemy Blasphemy is a speech crime and religious crime usually defined as an utterance that shows contempt, disrespects or insults a deity, an object considered sacred or something considered inviolable. Some religions regard blasphemy as a religiou ...

), praying the rosary and

meditating Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

on its mysteries.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

granted it the status of a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

in 2000 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the apparitions. The building was renovated in 2022, with the refurbishment of the second floor and a new roof. Iglesia en el Santuario de las Apariciones

Iglesia en el Santuario de las Apariciones

Description

The building is a simple, two-story façade made of stone. On the ground floor, 15th-century semicircular arches supported by Tuscan half-columns frame the door and windows. Inside, there is a main

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

(on the ground floor) and a small chapel where the Child Jesus and the Virgin Mary appeared to

, the visionary of Fátima. There is also a walled doorway with an

ogee arch An ogee ( ) is the name given to objects, elements, and curves—often seen in architecture and building trades—that have been variously described as serpentine-, extended S-, or sigmoid-shaped. Ogees consist of a "double curve", the combinatio ...

from the 16th century. The covent's hostel rooms are on the first floor. Sister Lúcia's cell, where the Virgin Mary appeared to her, is on the second floor. The old medieval cloister, dating from the end of the 15th century, had semicircular arches supported by Tuscan columns.

References

Bibliography

External links

*
Official website of the Sanctuary

Sanctuary plans

Fátima Pontevedra - La comunión reparadora
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanctuary Apparitions Catholic Church in Spain Shrines to the Virgin Mary Churches in Galicia (Spain) Tourist attractions in Galicia (Spain) Churches in Pontevedra

History

Description

References

Bibliography

See also

External links