This Marian pilgrimage center evokes the apparitions of Our Lady to the three shepherd children Lucia, Francisco and Jacinta, which occurred in 1917 and recognized in 1930. The place was a rural property, called Cova DA Iria, and belonged to Lucia's parents, who donated it to the sanctuary. It was here that five of the six apparitions took place. The Sanctuary includes the Chapel of Apparitions, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, the Prayer Room and the Basilica of the Holy Trinity. Complementing the Sanctuary are the Retreat Houses of Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Mount Carmel and the Paul VI Pastoral Center. It is one of the most important Marian shrines belonging to the Catholic Church in the world and one of the main international destinations for religious tourism, receiving around six million visitors per year. It was visited by Popes Paul VI (1967), John Paul II (1982, 1991 and 2000), Benedict XVI (2010) and Francis (2017 and 2023).

A few minutes from the Sanctuary we have Valinhos, a small village where children and their families lived and where they left to take the animals to graze, extremely well preserved. The house of Francisco and Jacinta (who were brother and sister) and Lucia DE Jesus (their cousin).