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By Dr. Jason Paul Bourgeois

An international Marian conference was held from Sept. 6 to 10, 2016 to commemorate the 1917 apparitions and message of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three children in Fatima, Portugal. The theme of the conference was "The Fatima event one hundred years later: history, message, and relevance" and it was sponsored by the Pontificia Academia Mariana Internationalis (PAMI). Six plenary sessions were given, in either Portuguese or Italian with simultaneous translation into French, German, Spanish, and English. The plenary sessions covered the history of Fatima research, examined critical editions of Fatima documentation, and explored the theological and spiritual implications of the message. Additional talks were given based on language groups. Two University of Dayton faculty members, Dr. Jason Paul Bourgeois and Dr. Gloria Falcao Dodd, gave presentations to the English-language group during the conference. Drs. Bourgeois and Dodd both teach graduate theology courses in the International Marian Research Institute program.

The conference was held at the Santuario in Fatima, on the very site of the apparitions. Attendants were able to visit the Basilica of the Most Holy Rosary, containing the tombs of the three children, as well as the Chapel of the Apparitions and holm oak tree at the exact spot where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared. Each day there were Eucharistic liturgies (in Portuguese, Latin, and Italian), and the opportunity to pray the Rosary. The message of Fatima encouraged penance, self-denial, and prayer (especially the Rosary) in reparation for sin.

Hundreds of items about Fatima can be found at the Marian Library, on the 7th floor of Roesch Library at the University of Dayton, and in our online collection as well.

We invite you to view the following photo gallery to see images of the holm oak tree and the Basilica of the Most Holy Rosary mentioned above.