Fátima, Portugal
| Fátima | |||
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The pilgrims and visitors of Fátima in front of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima
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 Fátima
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| Coordinates: 39°37′N 8°40′W / 39.62°N 8.66°WCoordinates: 39°37′N 8°40′W / 39.62°N 8.66°W | |||
| Country | Portugal | ||
| Region | Center | ||
| Subregion | Middle Tagus | ||
| Intermunic. comm. | Middle Tagus | ||
| District | Santarém | ||
| Municipality | Ourém | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 71.84 km2 (27.74 sq mi) | ||
| Population (2011) | |||
| • Total | 11,596 | ||
| • Density | 160/km2 (420/sq mi) | ||
| Postal code | 2496 | ||
| Area code | 249 | ||
| Patron | Our Lady of Pleasures and Our Lady of Fátima | ||
| Website | http://www.jf.fatima.pt/ | ||
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Fátima (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfatimɐ]) is a civil parish in the municipality of Ourém, in the Portuguese Santarém District. The population in 2011 was 11,596, in an area of 71.84 km². The parish encompasses several villages and localities of which Fátima, with a population of 7,756 residents, is the largest. Part of the urban agglomeration of Leiria, it is 187 km (116 mi) south of Porto and 123 km (76 mi) north of Lisbon.
The civil parish has been permanently associated with the Marian apparitions that were witnessed by three shepherd children at the Cova da Iria in 1917. The Catholic Church later recognized these events as "worthy of belief." A small chapel was built here in honor of Our Lady of Fátima beginning in 1918, and a statue of her installed. It has crowned by the Vatican. The chapel and statue have since been enclosed within a large shrine and basilicas. Associated facilities, including a hotel and medical facility, have also been built over the decades at this site. Each year thousands of pilgrims visit the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima.
The name of the town and parish is a rendition of the Arabic given name Fátima ( فاطمة Fāṭimah). (Fatimah is the namesake of Fatimah bint Muhammad, a daughter of the prophet of Islam Muhammad).
Fátima was said to be the name of a Moorish princess kidnapped by Gonçalo Hermigues and his companions. The knight took Fatima to a small village of the recently created Kingdom of Portugal, in the Serra de Aire hills. According to the Western Catholic narrative, Fatima fell in love with her kidnapper and decided to convert to Christianity in order to marry him. She was baptized and given a Christian name "Oureana."
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