April 23 - What a Phenomenal and Meaningful (but Very Long) Day! - Lisbon, Santarem and Fatima

We arrived in Lisbon on schedule at 8:00 am, not particularly well rested but excited and ready to begin our spiritual journey. Little did we realize that we would be going until 10:30 pm with little more than an hour bus ride to catch a catnap. Jet lag not allowed! But it was all well worth it.

 

Church of St. Jerome. 

It was a glorious day - clear, sunny and warm. As we left the airport, we met our excellent tour guide, Maria, who stayed with us for the next seven days, when we started our three day cruise. 

Maria, our tour guide, leading us in Lisbon.

We began with some touring around Lisbon and started in the Belam Quarter with a look at the Church of St. Jerome  (also the Jerónimos Monastery), a grand cathedral of Renaissance and Manueline architecture built in the 16th century. This Cathedral is notable as it is the burial site of the explorer, Vasco da Gama.

Belam Tower (Tower of St. Vincent) - Built in 1514.

From a distance, we saw the “Christ the King” monument, a large figure of Christ similar to the one in Rio de Janeiro. We stopped for a few minutes to check out the Belem Tower, also known as the Tower of St. Vincent.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of the significant role it played in the Portuguese maritime discoveries. The tower was commissioned by King John II to be part of a defense system at the mouth of the Tagus River and a ceremonial gateway to Lisbon. 

Church of St. Anthony of Padua. 

We then arrived at the first of many important religious sites, the Church of St Anthony of Padua, built on the site of the house where his parents lived and where he was born in 1195. St. Anthony is famous for his profound knowledge of scripture, his speaking ability and many miracles that are attributed to him. For these reasons he was named Doctor of the Church. We were privileged to have Mass in this beautiful church.

Enjoying Lunch with Father  Paul Wicker, and Randy and Eileen Scholl.

After Mass and before heading to Santarem and Fatima, Leslie and I shared a wonderful seafood lunch with Father Paul, and Randy and Eileen Scholl at Inhaca Restaurant (on the advice  of our guide Maria), and then we tried some of the local specialty, Ginjinha.

Trying some Ginjinha.

Church of the Holy Miracle

Now, time to get back on the bus and head to the Church of St. Stephen, or "Church of the Holy Miracle" in Santarem, site of a 13th century Eucharistic miracle. Around the year 1225, a consecrated host was stolen from the church. The host began to bleed, and it was soon returned to the church. It is still preserved and displayed to this day in a monstrance in the church. For those of us who participated in the pilgrimage to Turkey and Rome two years ago, this is the second Eucharistic miracle we have seen, the first being in Lanciano, Italy.  

It is now time to go to the Sanctuary of Fatima, one of the highlights of our pilgrimage. This is where apparitions of the Virgin Mary were witnessed by three shepherd children, Lucia Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto in 1917.  We arrive in time for dinner. 

After dinner, we all got together to reflect on what we had seen during the day and how it may have affected us. After a short introduction by one of us, we had our discussions in small groups. This time for reflection and discussion is something that Bill Christman and Father Paul plan to do each day and it was quite helpful to put our day in perspective. Then, despite the rainy evening, most of us went to the Apparition Chapel for the nightly praying of the rosary and other prayers, and for the candlelight procession in the large central plaza between the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary and the new Basilica of the Holy Trinity. To many of us pilgrims, including myself, this prayer service and procession was one of the most inspirational and moving events of our entire trip. In the saying of the rosary, each decade was led in a different language, but then we all completed each prayer in our own language. I would estimate over 3000 people were present this evening, and it was especially meaningful to know there were people from many countries all knowing what was happening and saying the same prayers,but in different languages.  

Chapel of Apparitions. 

Statue of the Virgin Mary Located on the Exact Site of the Apparitions.

The Chapel of the Apparitions is an open- air chapel built on the site of the appearances. The statue of the Virgin is located in the exact spot of the apparitions. It is in this chapel that the prayer service and the procession begins. 

Beginning of the procession. 

Participating in the procession was a special and very moving experience. In addition to the lit cross, this was a special evening that included carrying the host in a monstrance in the procession. 

Candlelight Procession in the Plaza.

We were struck by the presence of all these people, young and old, of different races and ethnicity, all coming together to demonstrate their great devotion to the Blessed Mother. What a wonderful way to end a wonderful day. 

Apparition Chapel at Conclusion of Procession.