So, we are off!  We started with mass at CPP followed by coffee and then were waved off by Mary on our way to Gatwick the first leg of our journey.  Already, everyone is getting to know each other.  Mary had given each of us a booklet on Our Lady; some were about apparitions and others about her feasts.

So, why are we going to Fatima?  Many of you will have seen the film shown in the parish last October "The 13th Day" which told the evocative story.  It is well worth seeing if you have not seen it yet.

Our journey is uneventful and we arrive in Lisbon.  John our guide from Leisure Travel  greets us.  He has flown in from a pilgrimage in Krakow.  He has had an anxious afternoon as most of the planes from England were cancelled because of industrial action!  We meet three nuns from Sussex who are joining our pilgrimage.

Having said the rosary and sung the Fatima hymn, we come off the motorway and have our first sight of Fatima.  It is dark but to our left is a brilliantly lit tower visible over the rooftops - our first view of the Church of the Apparition

We start Saturday morning with mass in English at the Church of the Apparition.  It has no walls so is really in the open air.  

There are about a dozen priests con-celebrating including Fr Tom with Paul as Deacon.  It was obvious from their accents that they came from all over te world.  We discovered that one of the nuns plays the organ so was able to lead the singing.  The homily is about the meaning of Fatima; caring for one another and peace.  Many people have brought offerings of flowers and petitions which are put around the back of the altar.  

We can see a procession of people coming around the church on their knees.

To the side of the church, there is a perpetual fire which represents the fires of hell that Our Lady showed the children during her apparition.  Opposite are sweet statues of Jacinta and Francesco which were created at their beatifications.  Of course Lucia was still alive then. 

There are two other churches on the plaza, the basilica which was built  between 1928 and 1953 

and the new Church of the trinity which holds 10,000 people.  

Outside there is a very modern, simple but emotive crucifix.

This afternoon we were supposed to have said the Stations of the cross but there were so many people we decided to walk it without trying to stop at each station.  It was quite a trek but well worth the effort. 

  The place where the angel appeared twice to the children had this beautiful statue and then at the well where the angel appeared is this very unusual statue.

We met Lucia's niece who was just sitting on the side of the road talking to people as they went past.

The houses in the village of Aljustrel where the children lived are just as I remember them from the film "The 13th Day" that we saw last October.  Down the road is the parish church where Francisco’s family are buried. What a wonderful display of flowers!  The children are now buried at the Apparition Church.

Tonight we will go to the procession for the Eve of the 13^th – 250,000 people are expected.