(ZENIT News / Fatima, Portugal, 02.15. 2026) – The number of pilgrims to the Shrine of Fatima in Portugal increased during 2025 to six and a half million people who participated in at least one celebration, a figure higher than the 6.2 million who visited in 2024.
The pilgrimage to the Fatima Shrine is an approach to the foundational event of Our Lady’s Apparitions to the three shepherd children. The Shrine’s mission is to welcome pilgrims and transmit the Virgin’s message to them as a means of evangelization.
At the 47th Meeting of Portuguese Hoteliers, held on February 5, 2026, in Fatima, statistics were presented on the groups registered for the Shrine’s services. The increase coincides with the Holy Year in Rome, during which many faithful also took the opportunity to visit Fatima.
During 2025, 5,608 pilgrim groups were registered, 7.2% more than in 2024. There were 1,276 Portuguese groups and 4,332 foreign groups from 84 nationalities across Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The growth surpasses the year 2019, which received 6.3 million pilgrims, considered a reference year because it was before the pandemic and close to the Centenary of the Apparitions, celebrated in 2017.
In 2025, Europe was the continent with the most pilgrims, especially from Spain, Poland, and Italy. Asia came in second, a position previously held by the United States. Pilgrims from Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines were particularly prominent. From the Americas, the largest numbers came from the United States, Brazil, and Mexico.
The pilgrimage to Fatima is the evocation of an inner journey to encounter the loving and good God, according to the official website of the Shrine. Each step towards Fatima offers the opportunity for a moment of intimacy with the hidden Jesus, who so deeply moved the three shepherd children of Fatima and invites the conversion of life of each pilgrim.
The outward journey of the Fatima pilgrimage is an invitation to an inner journey, with the sure company of Mary, a pilgrim full of grace, who encourages the search for God as she treasured Him in her heart (Luke 2:19), as well as the attentive care for others that she demonstrated in the face of their worries (John 2:3).
During the 2025 Fatima pilgrimage, a path of transformation to become like a child again (Mark 10:14-15), trusting in God, special services were offered to 424,206 people: 57,592 Portuguese and 366,614 foreigners, according to the information booths of the Prayer Area and Aljustrel. These pilgrims sought maturity in faith in the manner of the first three witnesses of God’s beauty at Fatima.
