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Rome, the
"Eternal City," has been a sacred place and internationally
important city since ancient times. Rome's history extends nearly
2,800 years, during which time it has been the seat of the Roman
Kingdom, the Roman Republic, the Roman Empire, the Papal States, the
Kingdom of Italy and the Italian Republic. Rome's abundance of
ancient temples, synagogues, churches and shrines make it one of the
best cities to explore the holy places of a variety of religious
traditions.
Fatima is
a small town in Portugal located north of Lisbon. It is a major
Catholic pilgrimage site because of reported sightings of the Virgin
Mary in 1917 by three local shepherd children. The terrain around
the village is wild and barren; a stark contrast with the fervent
devotion of the millions of pilgrims that visit each year,
especially for the main festivals on May 13 and October 13. The
Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is one of most famous Marian shrines in
the world. Some four million people visit Fatima each year, drawn by
apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported by three local shepherd
children in 1917. |
