Fátima (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfatimɐ] ⓘ) is a city in the municipality of Ourém and district of Santarém in the Oeste e Vale do Tejo Region of Portugal, with 71.29 km2 of area and 13,212 inhabitants (2021).

The civil parish has been permanently associated with Our Lady of Fátima, a series of 1917 Marian apparitions that were purportedly witnessed by three local shepherd children at the Cova da Iria.

The first supposed apparition dates back to the mid 18th century in Ortiga, now a quarter of Fátima, when, according to popular belief, the Virgin Mary appeared to a young, mute shepherdess and asked for one of her sheep, causing the girl to speak in response.

This event supposedly incited the creation of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Ortiga in 1758, which, in 1801, prompted Pope Pius VII to grant an indulgence to all pilgrims visiting the Marian shrine.

[6] Later in the early 20th century, a similar event took place in which three local children, Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, purportedly saw visions of a woman known as Our Lady of Fátima, since believed by the Catholic Church to be the Virgin Mary.

On 13 May 1917, whilst guarding their families' sheep in the Cova da Iria, the children first claimed to have seen an apparition of a "lady dressed in white" and shining with a bright light.

[5] The focus of Fatima as a place for peace pilgrimages developed in World War II when Lucia's messages were linked to the conflict.

[8] In the early 21st century, numerous residents of the parish (primarily from its business sector) worked to have Fátima designated as an independent municipality.

The project, led by Júlio Silva, engineer and ex-president of the Junta de Freguesia (Parish Council), was vetoed in July 2003 by President of Portugal Jorge Sampaio.

It borders São Mamede (Batalha) and Minde (Alcanena) to the southwest, Pedrógão and Chancelaria (Torres Novas) in the east, Atouguia and Nossa Senhora das Misericórdias (Ourém) to the north and Santa Catarina da Serra e Chainça (Leiria) to the northwest.

Fátima sits on a plateau at approximately 356 metres (1,168 ft) above sea level, being at a much higher altitude than the rest of the parishes in Ourém.

This plateau represents the northernmost portion of the Estremadura Limestone Massif, which was created during the Middle Jurassic and is characterized by various geological formations including sinkholes, uvalas and polje (like the Polje de Minde-Mata), as well as karst grottoes, caves with stalactites and stalagmites, in addition to lapiez fields.

The climate is characterized by heavy precipitation during late autumn and winter, with approximately 1,150 millimetres (45 in) annually, and warm, dry summers.

Other economic activities in the region include: marble sculpturing, saw-milling, carpentry, civil construction, commerce, and services.