Fátima is a city in Portugal famous for the Marian apparitions , recognized by the Catholic Church , that took place there in 1917 . The town itself has a population of 7,756 [ 1 ] and is located in the municipality of Ourém , in the Centro Region and Médio Tejo Subregion . It is in the district of Santarém and is included in the urban agglomeration of Leiria, in central Portugal, 187 km (116 mi) south of Porto and 123 km (76 mi) north of Lisbon . http://en.wikipedia.org photos: Celso Gonçalves Roc2c Dec/2011