The National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima () is a parish church and national shrine in the Diocese of Malolos in the Philippines. It serves as a Philippine apostolate of Our Lady of Fatima in Fátima, Portugal, which is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines. The shrine is located near the Our Lady of Fatima University campus in Marulas, Valenzuela City in Metro Manila, Philippines. The shrine is one of the three major pilgrimage sites in the Diocese of Malolos, with the National Shrine of St. Anne in Hagonoy and the National Shrine of Divine Mercy in Marilao as the other sites.
The National Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is the home of the National Pilgrim Image (NPI) of Our Lady of Fatima, the image that became the forefront of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution.
History
The Birth of the Fatima Parish in Valenzuela
Forty-three years after Our Lady’s apparition in Fatima, the devotion to her reached the shores of the Orient through the establishment of the first chapter of the Blue Army of Our Lady of Fatima, now known as the World Apostolate of Fatima, in Mangaldan, Pangasinan in 1961, a year after July 21, 1960, when the town of Polo was divided which resulted to the creation of the new municipality of Valenzuela pursuant to the Executive Order 401 signed by then President Carlos P. Garcia. The new town comprised ten barrios that were excluded from the old town of Polo: Karuhatan, Marulas, Malinta, Torres Bugallon (now Gen. T. de Leon), Ugong, Mapulang Lupa, Paso de Blas, Maysan, Canumay, and Bagbaguin. The old church of San Diego de Alcala in Polo, Bulacan, built by the Franciscan friars in 1629, was too far for the people of Valenzuela. It was the time when they, yearning for the love of the Lord, were in need for a church that can be called their own.
The Canonical Establishment and Early Years of the Parish
Responding to the need to form a new parish aside from the old one in Polo, Manila Archbishop, Cardinal Rufino Santos, canonically established on March 7, 1961, a new parish in Valenzuela and appointed Espiritu D. Izon as its first parish priest. Santos readily agreed to the suggestion of Izon that the new parish be placed under the patronage of Our Lady of Fatima. Little did he know that the institution of the new parish would soon become a midpoint of Marian devotion in the town and eventually in the country.
Upon the creation of the parish, there was no yet available place where a church and rectory could be built. Izon started working to fulfill the realization of such endeavor despite the fact that there were also no facilities and equipment for the liturgical services and no funds to start them. Thankfully, the late Don Vicente Araneta generously offered the use of the chapel of their company, the Gregorio Araneta Machineries Inc. (GAMI) compound near McArthur Highway, as the temporary parish church and convent. It would then be easy for Izon to scout for a place suited for the about-to-built parish church. It was also in this chapel where the life-size wooden image of Our Lady of Fatima, a donation from Jose Delos Santos, was first enshrined. For the next years, Father Izon unfolded his plans to build a community of faithful in the parish, including the organization of the parish pastoral council and some religious associations. Not long, the need to start building a church edifice in honor of Our Lady of Fatima remained to be an urgent priority.
Meanwhile, on September 11, 1963, through an Executive Order issued by President Diosdado Macapagal, he reunited the two separated towns of Polo and Valenzuela and retained the name Valenzuela for the reunified town, in memory of the homegrown hero, Pio Valenzuela.
Because of the necessity to build the church, Izon sought the help of the parishioners and went to different places nearby to look for an appropriate site where the church and rectory could be constructed. After his many struggles, he approached and appealed to the kindness of the children of Don Emeterio Barcelon to donate a part of their land situated at the highest portion of Pag-asa I Subdivision. The Barcelon Family donated 3,000 square meter lot which is 1,000 meters from McArthur Highway.
Building Our Lady’s Church
After the lot was turned-over to the parish, Izon requested Architect Marcelo Samaniego to draw a blueprint of the unique church with a fan-shape structure and Engineer David Consunji to prepare the specifications. On February 7, 1965, Manuel P. Del Rosario, Bishop of Malolos, blessed and laid the cornerstone of the church. This began the tiresome years for its completion.