Fatima: Miracle or construction?

On May 13, 1917, three children reported seeing Our Lady in the wild fields of Fátima, Portugal. The incident, which occurred during the First World War and amidst the conflict between the newly established Republic and the Church, reached unimaginable proportions. One hundred years later, the episode remains controversial. Was the Church's delay in opening an investigation into the case a coincidence? Was it the sudden acquisition of land and the planning for the site of a large shrine? The phenomenon grew, fueled by António de Oliveira Salazar's Estado Novo (New State) and supported by the faith of millions of Christians in the apparitions of Cova da Iria. This book, the result of research based on a wide variety of documents from the period, will lead the reader to ask an uncomfortable question: "Are believers feeding a carefully planned lie?"