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Sanctuary of the Apparitions

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Sanctuary of the Apparitions
Sanctuary of the Immaculate Heart of Mary
Santuario de las Apariciones
Facade of the sanctuary
Facade of the sanctuary
42°26′02.2″N 8°38′47.4″W / 42.433944°N 8.646500°W
Location Pontevedra, Spain
Denomination Catholicism
Website www.casadelinmaculadocorazon.es
History
Events Pontevedra apparitions
Administration
Diocese Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela

The Sanctuary of the Apparitions (Santuario das Aparicións in Galician and Santuario de las Apariciones in Spanish) is a Catholic convent and sanctuary located in Pontevedra, Spain. According to Sister Lúcia, it was here that the Child Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to her in 1925-1926 and revealed to her the First Saturdays Devotion.[1]

It is the third most visited Marian pilgrimage destination in the world, with over 12 million visits recorded up to 2022.[2] The sanctuary is also known as the "Spanish Fátima".[3][4]

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, of which traces of stonemasonry and a walled door with decorative reliefs have been preserved.[5][6]

The building was constructed in the mid-16th century.[7] 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 politician and universal minister.[5][8]

In 1918, the Marquis of Riestra rented the building to the Dorothean sisters, who opened a school there.[7][9] In 1925, Sister Lúcia, 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 Lúcia had a vision of the child Jesus and the Virgin Mary 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.[10]

In 1927, Sister Lúcia wrote that the Virgin Mary had revealed to her the First Saturdays Devotion in 1925,[5][11] which consists of going to confession, receiving Holy Communion every first Saturday of the month for five months (in reparation for five types of blasphemy), praying the rosary and meditating on its mysteries.[12]

Pope John Paul II granted it the status of a sanctuary in 2000 on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the apparitions.[13][14]

The building was renovated in 2022, with the refurbishment of the second floor and a new roof.[4]

Description

The shrine has a simple, two-storied façade made of stone. On the ground floor, 15th-century semicircular arches supported by Tuscan half-columns frame the door and windows.[15]

Inside, there is the main chapel (on the ground floor) and a smaller chapel where the Child Jesus and the Virgin Mary had appeared to Sister Lúcia, the visionary of Fátima. There is also a walled doorway with an ogee arch from the 16th century.[6] The covent's hostel rooms are on the first floor.[2] Sister Lúcia's cell, where the Virgin Mary appeared to her, is on the second floor.[4] The old medieval cloister, dating from the end of the 15th century, had semicircular arches supported by Tuscan columns.[6]

See also

References

  1. Back to citation Milagros Bará (16 July 2015). "El Santuario de las apariciones". Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish).
  2. Back to citation occurrence 2.0 Back to citation occurrence 2.1 José Estévez (9 June 2022). "El Santuario de las Apariciones inicia su primera fase de rehabilitación". Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish).
  3. Back to citation "El Santuario de las Apariciones, «el Fátima español», esquiva la ruina en Pontevedra". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 11 May 2023.
  4. Back to citation occurrence 4.0 Back to citation occurrence 4.1 Back to citation occurrence 4.2 José Estévez (9 October 2022). "El Santuario de las Apariciones prevé su reapertura en el plazo máximo de dos semanas". Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish).
  5. Back to citation occurrence 5.0 Back to citation occurrence 5.1 Back to citation occurrence 5.2 José Benito García Iglesias (13 October 2017). "El Santuario de las Apariciones". Pontevedra Viva (in Spanish).
  6. Back to citation occurrence 6.0 Back to citation occurrence 6.1 Back to citation occurrence 6.2 Rafael Fontoira Surís (2009). Pontevedra Monumental (in Galician). Pontevedra: Deputación de Pontevedra. p. 157. ISBN 978-84-8457-327-2.
  7. Back to citation occurrence 7.0 Back to citation occurrence 7.1 "Una casa que las monjas doroteas alquilaron al marqués de Riestra". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 19 February 2005.
  8. Back to citation Riveiro Tobío 2008, p. 27
  9. Back to citation "Doroteas: un siglo de enseñanza". Faro (in Spanish). 25 April 2018.
  10. Back to citation Santiago Tedeschi Prades (15 February 2022). "El Santuario de las Apariciones en Pontevedra en estado ruinoso: conoce su historia y ayuda a salvarlo". Cadena COPE (in Spanish).
  11. Back to citation "La devoción al Inmaculado Corazón de María: sor Lucía, vidente de Fátima, explica por qué urge" (in Spanish). Religión en libertad. 22 December 2017.
  12. Back to citation Aganzo 2010, p. 79; "La devoción de los Cinco Primeros Sábados" (in Spanish). Catholic.net. Retrieved 4 January 2020; Javier Martínez Brocal (16 March 2022). "El Papa consagrará Rusia para evitar una catástrofe, como pidió la Virgen de Fátima en las apariciones". ABC (in Spanish).
  13. Back to citation Salvador Rodríguez (8 September 2019). "El mensaje de Fátima que llegó a Galicia". Faro (in Spanish).
  14. Back to citation "El Santuario de las Apariciones reabrirá al público el 22 de abril tras dos años de obras". Diario de Pontevedra (in Spanish). 14 April 2023.
  15. Back to citation Susana Regueira (20 August 2012). "Un claustro medieval en sor Lucía". Faro (in Spanish).

Bibliography

Aganzo, Carlos (2010). Pontevedra. Ciudades con encanto (in Spanish). Madrid: El País-Aguilar. p. 79. ISBN 978-8403509344.

Fontoira Surís, Rafael (2009). Pontevedra monumental (in Galician). Pontevedra: Diputación Provincial de Pontevedra. p. 157. ISBN 978-84-8457-327-2.

Riveiro Tobío, Elvira (2008). Descubrir Pontevedra (in Spanish). Pontevedra: Edicións do Cumio. p. 27. ISBN 9788482890852.

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