The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary anchors the south end of the sanctuary esplanade, its 65-metre tower visible from miles around. Completed in 1953, it stands in a restrained neo-Baroque style that avoids the excesses sometimes found in pilgrimage architecture. The interior is relatively austere by southern European standards, though the side chapels contain the tombs of all three visionaries: Francisco, Jacinta, and Sister Lúcia, who lived until 2005.
The two flanking colonnades that frame the esplanade extend from the basilica's facade, giving the approach the proportions of a processional route. At night, during the candlelight processions that close each major pilgrimage day, the effect is genuinely moving — thousands of flames moving in the dark toward a lit basilica, with the crowd singing the Fátima hymn in unison.