Catholic pilgrimage in the colors of Portugal

20,000 faithful every Ascension Thursday

Luxembourg is a country of Christian tradition and culture. Every Ascension Thursday, about 20,000 pilgrims come to give thanks to “Nossa Senhora de Fatima” at the place called “op Bässent” in Wiltz.

Our Lady of Fatima is celebrated in Luxembourg by Catholics throughout the Greater Region. A mass is given in the church of Wiltz, in honor of Our Lady of Fatima. It is followed by a religious procession to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima on the heights of Wiltz.

A sanctuary built after the war

This sanctuary was built in July 1952 by the inhabitants of Wiltz.

In 1945, while the terrible battle of the Ardennes was raging, the inhabitants had taken refuge in a cellar to escape the bombing. They promised each other that if they survived the war, they would give thanks to Our Lady of Fatima.

Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, this sanctuary is today the origin ofone of the most important religious pilgrimages of the Grand Duchy.

Our Lady of Fatima is traditionally celebrated in Luxembourg every Ascension Thursday.

This pilgrimage is nowadays very much followed by the Portuguese community, which is very present in Luxembourg. It was she who launched the first pilgrimage in 1968. Since then, the pilgrimage to Our Lady of Fatima in Luxembourg has become an expression of intense popular jubilation. It is also the occasion for a family celebration, where devotion, cultural tradition and community folklore are harmoniously combined.

Our Lady of Fatima in Portugal

Our Lady of Fatima is also celebrated throughout the world by communities of Portuguese origin.

The apparitions of the Virgin Mary

The Virgin Mary appeared six times to three children in the village of Fatima in Portugal. If these apparitions took place during the year 1917, it is only in 1930 that the Catholic Church will recognize this miracle.

Since then, the small village of 2,500 inhabitants has become a high place of Catholic pilgrimage.

Celebration of Our Lady of Fatima

The Holy See has set this celebration for May 13, the date of the first apparition of Our Lady to the children of Fatima in 1917.

Our Lady of Fatima is celebrated in many places around the world.

TheOctave at Notre-Dame de Luxembourg or the dancing procession of Echternach are also two very important religious events in Luxembourg.