‘Miracle’: jackpot Euromillions ticket bought near Fatima

Did the latest Euromillions lottery winner benefit from some divine intervention?

A jackpot-winning ticket has been bought in the Portuguese village of Aljustrel, once home to three shepherds who famously saw visions of the Virgin Mary at nearby Fatima, local media reported Thursday.

On the eve of the big annual pilgrimage to Fatima in central Portugal, residents have hailed the 73-million-euro ($83 million) win as “a new miracle”, local newspaper Correio da manha reported.

According to Catholic tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared to three young shepherds six times over the course of the year 1917, the first time on May 13.

The lucky lottery ticket was bought in a cafe in Aljustrel, but its owners don’t know if the winner was a local or one of the thousands of pilgrims that come each year to the Fatima sanctuary, the newspaper said.

Among the pilgrims next year could be Pope Francis, who has expressed a desire to visit Fatima in 2017 to mark the centenary of the apparitions.

His predecessor Benedict XVI was the third pope to make the pilgrimage to Fatima in 2010, after Paul VI in 1967 and John Paul II who visited Fatima three times in 1982, 1991 and 2000.

John Paul had a special devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, believing she saved his life during an assassination attempt in Rome in 1981.

Euromillions confirmed that a ticket holder in Portugal had scooped 73 million euros on Tuesday, becoming the country’s 59th jackpot winner.