page_title: Basilica of the Holy Trinity (Fátima)
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Basilica of the Holy Trinity (Fátima) / History
caption_attribution_description: Santuário de Fátima
context_page_description: The Basilica of the Holy Trinity is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the Sanctuary of Fátima in Cova da Iria, in the civil parish of Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém in Portugal.
  In 2009 it received the Outstanding Structure Award by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. IABSE awards the most remarkable, innovative, creative or otherwise stimulating structure completed within the last few years.
context_section_description: In 1953, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima (Portuguese: Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima) was consecrated.
  Situated on the southeast corner of the church,a statue of Pope Pius XII (sculpted in white marble by Portuguese sculptor Domingos Soares Branco) was first revealed to the public, in a ceremony that included a formal blessing. A statue of Pope Paul VI was erected in May 1968 (created by Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Correia) on the northwest corner of the church.
  During the 1973 liturgical year, there were reports that the site could not handle the number of pilgrims on days of relatively minor volumes at the basilica. The inauguration of a restored statue of D. José Alves Correia da Silva (by Joaquim Correia), first bishop of the Diocese of Leiria, on 2 February 1973 proved to be chaotic and crowded.
  In 1974 the rector of the sanctuary, Monsignor Luciano Guerra, proposed a pastoral program to include construction of a new large, covered assembly area, in order to handle the pilgrims. But, it was not until 1996 that construction of a new church at the complex was proposed. In the meantime, new religious symbols and reliquaries were added to the sanctuary, including a silver ostensorium by sculptor Zulmiro de Carvalho, in the main chapel of the Blessed Sacrament (Portuguese: Capela do Santíssimo Sacramento).
  In 1997, the sanctuary organized an international design competition for proposals for the new church: the international jury selected the design of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis on 19 December 1998. The work on the new church began in February 2004, with the cornerstone installed on 6 June of the same year. The first stone, laid by Serafim Ferreira e Silva, retired bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima, was blessed and donated by Pope John Paul II on 9 March 2004. It came from a marble fragment of Apostle Peter's tomb, located under the basilica in Rome. The placing of the cornerstone was a symbolic act, as the marble stone was later placed on display within the finished church for visiting pilgrims.
  The church was dedicated on 12 October 2007, in the company of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary-of-State for the Vatican and then-legate to Pope Benedict XVI, as part of the closing ceremonies dedicated to 90th anniversary of the Marian apparitions of Fátima.
  On 2 June 2008 was the inauguration of the 14 stations of the Via Lucis, executed by Italian artist Vanni Rinaldi. At the same time, a 3-metre (9.8 ft) image of Nossa Senhora de Fátima in Carrara marble was executed by Italian sculptor Benedetto Pietrogrande and installed in the interior of the church. From 2008 several artistic projects were carried out by various international contributors. Large 500-square-metre (5,400 sq ft) gilded terracotta panels in the presbytery were painted by a group of artists specializing in liturgical art. They came from eight nations and four Christian churches, based in the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. The work was created and supervised by Slovenian artist Marko Ivan Rupnik. 
  On the walls of the confessional, azulejo panels, representing the episodes in the life of saints Peter and Paul, by architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, were mounted. A statute of Pope John Paul II by Polish sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj, was installed on the grounds in 2008 to the northeast of the church. A weathered steel cross, located in the church interior, approximately 34 metres (112 ft) high and 17 metres (56 ft) wide, was mounted at that time by German sculptor Robert Schad. A suspended sculpture by Cypriot artist Maria Loizidou was placed in the entrance portico, while the execution of the 8-metre (26 ft) doors in bronze, and panels from the Rosary, by Portuguese artist Pedro Calapez, were also completed; and 8-metre (26 ft) lateral doors in bronze, dedicated to the twelve apostles of Christ, with text by Portuguese artist Francisco Providência, were installed. Meanwhile, stained glass panels with Bible verses in six languages were installed by Canadian artist Kerry Joe Kelly, and a bronze crucifix, suspended 
caption: A close-up of the church statue/obelisk of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
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