SculptureFatima · PT
Statue of the Bishop José Alves Correia da Silva
At the upper edge of the great esplanade of the Sanctuary of Fátima, a bronze figure of a stooped, gentle-looking bishop keeps quiet watch over the Cova da Iria. This is the Statue of Bishop José Alves Correia da Silva (1872–1957), the first bishop of the restored Diocese of Leiria and the man who, more than anyone else, turned an unremarkable hollow in the Serra de Aire into one of the world's most visited shrines. Carved by the Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Correia and inaugurated on 2 February 1973, the monument stands at the top of the open esplanade near the tall sanctuary cross, facing the place where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917. It is a free, outdoor stop that slots naturally into any visit to the shrine, a quiet counterpoint to the crowded Capelinha das Aparições below.