One of the most famous paintings by the Italian artist Caravaggio is ‘The Calling of Saint Matthew’.

Painted around the year 1600 for the Contarelli Chapel in Rome, the masterpiece still hangs there to this day. Like the Mona Lisa by Leonarda da Vinci, ‘The Calling’ has a certain mystery and mystique about it.

Just as no one knows if the female figure is smiling in mirth or in happiness, similar questions remain four centuries after it was completed.

Unusual, you may say, that in the middle of a sweltering heatwave artistic mysteries such as these might be on my mind!

Well, ye might think it’s warm or hot or boiling here in Ireland this week, but wait until I tell of my recent travels when 36C was the norm and we endured 40C on several days!

Last year, in the month of July, I visited Fatima in Portugal for the first time and recently I returned once more to a little village made famous in the years 1916 and 1917. Though Fatima has an indigenous population of only around 10,000, it was officially declared a city in 1997.

The ‘Story of Fatima’ really has its origins in the little rural village of Aljustrel and the nearby hilly, rocky district of Loca de Caleco. When I visited these areas last week, the white-washed, red-tiled buildings basked in glorious sunshine. Even at 9am when we were there, the sky was azure blue, not a cloud to be seen.

I was one of a pilgrimage group of around 30 led by Patsy Foley - most of us had been to this Marian Shrine location in Portugal before but for a few it was their first glimpse of all the places which brought Fatima to the notice of the world 110 years ago.

The people of Aljustrel and surrounding areas made a poor living by growing fruit and olives and herding sheep flocks.

We walked through the simple homes of the........

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