Fatima

On Saturday morning Widlyne took me to Fatima.  Fatima is a pilgrimage site south of St. Marc, just off Highway 1, that a priest has been working on for years, it looks like.

The location is breathtaking. It is on a hilltop wedged between the Caribbean Sea and high mountains to the east which are surrounded by clouds.  As you enter the grounds you must walk up a steep hill where they have a series of crosses for people to stop and say the prayers of the Way of the Cross.  This photograph was taken at the end of the day as we were leaving.  As I was coming up the hill in the morning, I did not notice the statue of Jesus overlooking the sea.   Widlyne said it is a miniature of the huge one in Rio de Janeiro.

There is a large roofed area where they say mass and have singing.  A lot of people  gathered and prayed there until the mass began in the late afternoon.  There are several bunkhouse type places for people to stay.  There are lots of little altars and mini chapels.  We walked to a steep hillside where there is a little grotto with a statue.  We stopped nearby without descending to it, and sat down.  Instead of sitting down, some of the oldest people went down the tiny path alongside the grotto to say a prayer in front of it.  At the summit of one of the hills there is a foundation for a big church.  I hope that when it is built it will be left open and the magnificent mountains will be totally open to view. 

Widlyne said that some day the priest would like to have a hotel and conference center, and a system in place for people to come and stay there on retreats.  It was a peaceful and contemplative place, and I would like to go back some day.