In the early 1950s, the Barnabite Fathers, newly arrived from Italy, were looking for property in western New York. They wanted to build a seminary.

As it happened, a Niagara Falls couple, Walter and Helen Ciurczak, had recently pledged to give a portion of their farm to a religious institution that would use it in Mary's honor. It would be their way of thanking the Blessed Mother for her intercessory prayers on their behalf.

The two parties managed to find one another: In 1954, the Ciurczaks gave 15 acres on Swann Road in Lewiston, N.Y., to the Barnabite Fathers. The couple's only stipulation was that the Fathers include a shrine to Mary, along with their seminary, on the land.

The following year, another local donor, Frank Sciabella, provided statuary of Our Lady of Fatima with the three Portuguese children she had appeared to between May 13 and Oct. 13 of 1917 — Lucia and her two cousins, Jacinta and Francisco. Soon after this development, Our Lady of Fatima Shrine became very popular among locals looking for a place to pray and contemplate the goodness of God.

The site's near-instant popularity was helped, no doubt, by the fact that 1960 was just a few years away. What was so special about 1960? That was the year many expected the Church to reveal one of the “secrets of Fatima” which Mary had told to the children back in 1917. Thanks to this expectation, strong devotions to Our Lady of Fatima were springing up all around the world.

For the fledgling shrine, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time with the right message.

Visions of Love

At Fatima, Mary asked for prayer and penance “for the conversion of sinners and for the reparation of offenses to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.” She also asked Catholics to pray the rosary every day to obtain peace in the world and to make special devotions on the first Saturday of each month. During one of her apparitions, the Blessed Mother also gave the children a view of those suffering in hell.

In addition, Mary told the three children that war is a punishment for sin. She told them that World War I, which was still raging as she spoke, would come to an end — but, if men did not return to God, there would be a second world war and, if men still did not return to God, there would be a third world war in which many nations would be annihilated.

It was also at Fatima, on Oct. 13, 1917, that the “Miracle of the Sun” took place. Seventy thousand people reportedly watched as the sun danced in the sky and then plunged earth-ward, terrifying all of the spectators. The sun then returned to its place in the sky. It had rained considerably before the miracle, and everyone and everything was quite wet. After the miracle, everyone and everything was quite dry.

As for the long-awaited secret expected to be revealed in 1960, Pope John XXIII decided to keep it sealed after all.

It would be Pope John Paul II, in the Jubilee year 2000, who would disclose the secret's contents to the world. It turned out to be a symbolic prophecy of the church's 20th-century struggles with evil political systems and of the Church's ultimate triumph. Intriguingly, it also included a vision of “a bishop, dressed in white,” fired upon with “bullets and arrows.” Some interpreted this as a prophetic witness of the attempt on John Paul's life on May 13, 1981 — anniversary of the first Marian apparition at Fatima.

This interpretation was given credence by the fact that Pope John Paul had long had a very strong devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, having credited her with his survival of the assassination attempt

In any case, the disclosure of the secret of Fatima coincided with the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco, who had died young not long after seeing Mary.

Gradually a church, which is now a basilica, developed on the grounds of the shrine. And a striking edifice it is: Lewiston's Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary features a glass-covered dome, striking from outside as well as inside, which has configurations of the continents of the northern hemisphere on the glass. The dome represents the world.

Within the basilica, one of the most impressive sights is a mural by the late Polish artist Joseph Slawinski. The “Peace Mural,” as it's called, is an ancient art form called Sgraffito, in which pictures are scratched out from layers of wet cement. Also eye-catching inside the basilica are chapels devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Walking Rosary

Construction of the basilica began in 1963 and was completed in 1965. The sanctuary measures 100 feet in diameter and is 55 feet high. On top of the basilica is a 13-foot, 10-ton statue of Our Lady of Fatima carved out of Vermont granite.

Mary's statue on top of the dome of the world is to represent the fact that Mary is a spiritual bridge for us between heaven and earth. With her hands clasped in prayer, she looks down upon the world and its peoples and constantly intercedes for everyone. By the same token, visitors to the basilica look up to Mary as she watches out for the world. Each year on the second Sunday of August, called Coronation Sunday, a crown is placed on her head.

Visitors can also take a stairway to the top of the basilica's exterior. From there, they have an angel's view of the grounds of the shrine. One of the most moving sights is a “walking” rosary: The 60 beads encircle a pathway around a reflection pool in front of the basilica.

The reflection pool is shaped like a heart in honor of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The rosary ends with a corpus of Our Lord nailed to a marble cross. Surrounding the reflection pool are life-size statues of Christ and the 12 Apostles.

Elsewhere on the grounds are more than 130 life-size statues along what is called Avenue of the Saints, which is shaped like a cross. The Stations of the Cross are etched in glass on another part of the grounds. A replica of the Chapel of the Apparitions in Fatima, knows here as the Little Chapel of Fatima, rounds out the site's main attractions.

Each year, hundreds of Catholics come by the busload to see the shrine's annual Festival of Lights, which includes not only beautiful light displays, but also nine-foot figures of the Nativity, plus many other liturgical designs and scenes. The display is in place from the Saturday before Thanksgiving until the first week of January.

This year is a good one to visit the Lewiston shrine because 2002 marks the 500-year anniversary of the Barnabite order's founding, in Italy, by St. Zaccaria. He named the order after St. Barnabus, who accompanied St. Paul on his missionary apostolate to the gentiles. The shrine and basilica are staffed by Barnabite fathers and brothers, along with helpful lay volunteers.

There's no time like the present to stop by, wish the staff a happy anniversary and pray for the intercession of Our Lady of Fatima.

Joseph Albino writes from Camillus, New York.