About Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima · Laton, California
The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is a Roman Catholic parish and diocesan shrine located in the small unincorporated farming community of Laton, in Kings County, California, within the Diocese of Fresno. The parish was founded in 1953 and its present church was built in 1954, taking its name and devotion from the Marian apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima, Portugal, in 1917. Located at 20855 Fatima Avenue, the shrine serves a rural, predominantly Portuguese-heritage and Spanish-speaking Catholic community in the San Joaquin Valley and is one of five shrines featured in the Diocese of Fresno's 2023 Shrine Pilgrimage, during which Bishop Brennan granted a plenary indulgence to visiting pilgrims. It is currently administered by Rev. Richard Smith and offers Mass in both English and Spanish.
- Established
- 1953
- Patron
- Our Lady of Fátima
- Rector
- Rev. Richard Smith
- Diocese
- Diocese of Fresno
Why belong here
The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima offers a rare combination in the Diocese of Fresno: a small, intimate rural parish where Mass is celebrated in both English and Spanish, with a dedicated Youth Mass and a Healing Mass offered periodically. As an officially recognized diocesan shrine, it is a place of pilgrimage — particularly for the local Portuguese-American and Hispanic Catholic communities of the Kings County/South Valley farming region — and a quiet destination for those drawn to the Marian devotion of Fátima. Visitors will find a parish that is small enough to be personal, with a rich devotional identity tied to the 1917 Fátima apparitions, and an active pilgrimage life connected to the wider Diocese of Fresno.
Mass times at Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM (before the 5:00 PM Vigil Mass, per parish directory listing)
- Thursday: 5:30 PM – 6:30 PM (per current diocese/Discover Mass listing)
Identity & Patronage
The Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima is a Marian shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fátima — the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary after the six apparitions she is believed to have made to three shepherd children (Lúcia dos Santos and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto) at the Cova da Iria near Fátima, Portugal, between May 13 and October 13, 1917. The parish took this name upon its founding in 1953, reflecting the deep Portuguese Catholic heritage of Laton and the surrounding farming region of Kings County.
- Patron: Our Lady of Fátima
- Commemorates the 1917 apparitions at Fátima, Portugal
- Feast day of Our Lady of Fátima: May 13
History of the Shrine
Founded in 1953 and with the present church built in 1954, the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima has served the rural Catholic community of Laton for more than 70 years. It grew out of a Portuguese-American farming settlement and has continued to minister to new generations of Hispanic Catholic families drawn to the region's agricultural economy. In 2023 the Diocese of Fresno formally highlighted the shrine as one of five diocesan shrines for the Shrine Pilgrimage, with Bishop Joseph V. Brennan granting a plenary indulgence to pilgrims who visited during the designated week.
- Founded: 1953
- Church built: 1954
- Recognized as a Shrine of the Diocese of Fresno
- Featured in the 2023 Diocese of Fresno Shrine Pilgrimage (April 16–23, 2023)
Diocese & Pastoral Leadership
The shrine is part of the Kings Vicariate of the Diocese of Fresno. It is currently administered by Rev. Richard Smith. As a combined shrine and parish church, it operates under the same diocesan authority as the other parishes in the South Valley region.
- Diocese: Diocese of Fresno
- Vicariate: Kings Vicariate
- Administrator / Pastor: Rev. Richard Smith
- Diocese website: dioceseoffresno.org
Shrine Pilgrimage (2023)
As part of the National Eucharistic Revival, Bishop Joseph V. Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno announced a Diocesan Shrine Pilgrimage visiting five shrines of the diocese. Each shrine was assigned a designated week, and the faithful who visited during that week and fulfilled the usual conditions (sacramental Confession, reception of Holy Communion, prayer for the Pope's intentions, etc.) could receive a plenary indulgence. A 'Shrine Pilgrimage Passport' was issued and stamped at each shrine visited.
- Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Co-Patroness of the Unborn — Bakersfield (Jan 15–22, 2023)
- Shrine of St. Thérèse — Fresno (Feb 26–Mar 5, 2023)
- Shrine of St. Jude Thaddeus — Livingston (Mar 19–26, 2023)
- Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima — Laton (Apr 16–23, 2023)
- Shrine of Our Lady of Miracles — Gustine (May 14–21, 2023)
- Pilgrims received a Shrine Pilgrimage Passport stamped at each shrine
Visit & Pilgrimage Information
The shrine is open year-round for parish Masses and for devotional visits. Pilgrims wishing to time their visit with special shrine events should consult the Diocese of Fresno Shrine Pilgrimage page. Pilgrims should call the parish office in advance to confirm current Mass times, confession times, and any special healing Masses or devotional events.
- Parish office phone: (559) 923-4935
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 20855 Fatima Avenue, Laton, CA 93242
- Diocese pilgrimage hub: dioceseoffresno.org/shrine-pilgrimage
Community & Languages
The shrine serves a rural Catholic community shaped by Portuguese-American dairy-farming families and by later generations of Hispanic Catholic families. The Mass schedule reflects this bilingual character: the 8:00 AM Sunday Mass is celebrated in Spanish, the 9:30 AM and Vigil Masses in English, and a Youth Mass is offered on Sunday evenings during the school year (with a summer evening time during the Memorial Day to Labor Day season).
- Sunday 8:00 AM Mass: Spanish
- Sunday 9:30 AM and Vigil Masses: English
- Youth Mass on Sunday evenings
- Historically rooted in Portuguese-American Catholic heritage