A replica of the Little Chapel of the Apparitions of Fatima in Cebu province was formally opened to pilgrims on Monday, April 4.
The chapel at San Remigio town, located about 91 kilometers northwest of Cebu City, is the first “Capelinha” replica in Asia and the fourth outside of Portugal.
The other three replicas are found in Brazil, Puerto Rico and in the United States.
The establishment of the official replicas of the Chapel of the Apparition is a process that requires the approval of the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal.
More than 8,000 people attended the blessing and consecration of the chapel to the Immaculate Heart of Mary led by Archbishop Jose Palma of Cebu.
Also in attendance were several bishops and priests including Father Francisco Pereira, the chaplain of Sanctuario de Fatima in Portugal.
During the rite, the relics of Sts. Jacinta and Francisco Marto were encased in the altar of the chapel.
Jacinta and Francisco are the two of the three Portuguese shepherd children to whom Our Lady appeared at the Cova da Ira from May 13 to October 13, 1917.
St. John Paul II beatified Jacinta and Francisco Marto on the 83rd anniversary of the first apparition of Our Lady of Fatima on May 13, 2000. Pope Francis declared Francisco and Jacinta as saints on May 13, 2017.
The pilgrimage site has the same structural features as that in Portugal, such as the Stations of the Cross, the image of Portugal’s Angel of Peace, a replica of the “Valinhos site” where Our Lady first appeared, a rosary garden, and a gazebo.
The archdiocese began the construction of the Capelinha de Fatima replica in late 2020 as part of the celebration of the 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines.
