Nothing less than a miracle in Portugal

Mariang Ina Ko (“Mary, my Mother”) was the Marian pilgrimage I recently joined. It was a small group of 18 fun-loving but equally devout pilgrims, a meticulous tour coordinator, Raki Madelo, and a tall, almost six-foot-tall pilgrimage chaplain, Father Dave Concepcion, who can be equally humorous and profound when the occasion demands it.

Father Dave said, “On this pilgrimage, pray and ask for nothing less than a miracle.” Oh, wow! I never dared ask for a miracle in this manner. Lubos-lubosin ko na kaya? I thought (“Why not push the envelope?”), and so I prayed for three miracles.

Coincidentally, our journey tied up with the celebration of the 800th year of the Franciscan Order. My parish, Santuario de San Antonio, marked the occasion with a nine-day novena, the sponsorship of mass baptisms, confirmations and mass weddings, free breakfasts and distribution of thousands of pieces of pan de San Antonio to residents in need along with games and meals served to jail inmates, etc.   

St. Anthony was born in Lisbon, Portugal. His father was of noble birth and owned vast tracts of land. “They practically owned an entire district,” said our guide. But, like St. Francis who established a religious order based on a life of service and poverty, St. Anthony turned his back on all worldly possessions in humble imitation of the life of Christ.

“St. Anthony is always referred to as hailing from Padua or Padova,” said our guide. “He’s not. He died in Padova but he was born in Lisbon. We should, in fact, refer to him as St. Anthony de Lisboa y Padova!” Checking the books, she was right. St. Anthony spent 25 years in Portugal and only 11 years in Italy.

Despite this “he belongs to us” tug-of-war, St. Anthony’s town in Lisbon is bustling with thousands of tourists.

Amazing that pilgrims in the modern world are able to visit these consecrated places, kept intact and handled with much devotion and care. A private Mass was celebrated for our group in the Church of Santo Antonio where right below the altar is a niche and the exact location where Fernando Bulhom, the future St. Anthony, was born. We descended down the stairs — in small groups — to visit the niche.

What is it about holy sites that makes you want to whisper? Not only that, we tiptoed and knelt with reverence. Father Dave’s advice came to mind: “For every new church or holy site you visit, pray the ‘Apostle’s Creed,’ one ‘Our Father,’ one ‘Hail Mary’ and one ‘Glory Be’ and offer them for the intention of the Holy Father, to gain indulgence.” (Indulgence is an act of sacrifice or set of prayers that is supposed to ease and shorten your “cleansing” stay in purgatory.)

Climbing back to the pink-tiled Sacristy, I saw a Delft-like blue and white tiled photo of Pope John Paul II to commemorate his visit there on May 12, 1982, on his way to Fatima.  

A block up the street from Fernando’s birthplace is the Lisbon Cathedral, a 12th-century cathedral. We saw the same font where Fernando was baptized and which is still used today. “Because his parents were devout Catholics and people of means, Fernando was able to attend the cathedral school and receive a fine Christian education from the priests who taught there,” said Jack Wintz, an author who studied the works of St. Anthony.

We strolled through parts of the district known as the Alfama, the neighborhood that surrounded Fernando’s home. In his day, the Alfama was Lisbon’s most attractive neighborhood. It had twisting maze of narrow and hilly streets, open patios, taverns and restaurants making it quite appealing to tourists today.

Fernando became Anthony when he joined the Franciscan Order taking his name from the little church named after another St. Anthony: St. Anthony of the Desert. When Anthony set sail for Morocco, he never returned to his beloved Portugal.

In today’s parlance, I’m sure people might refer to St. Anthony as holding “dual citizenship” (Portugal and Italy) status. After all, St. Anthony is too much of a beloved saint to have to belong to one country alone, except maybe as a matter of distinguishing him from the other St. Anthony(s) of the church.  

Other attractions in Portugal:

• The mesmerizing jacaranda trees bursting in purple and lilac that lined all the main streets in Lisbon. We came a week too early to admire the jacaranda in full bloom although we caught some of the trees already blossoming, a result of an impending hot summer.

• Portugal is known for their abundance of fresh sardines and seafood, simply grilled to enjoy the natural flavor. Portugal’s most popular food is the salted codfish bacalhau (bacalao) but I preferred to try the fresh sardines and was not disappointed. Complement your meal with vinho verde (green wine), with a slightly biting or prickling quality and a refreshing twang, similar to champagne with the same fizz but a lower alcohol content. It’s actually a white wine; the green refers to its youth and freshness. It costs about eight euros or P536 a bottle. Try also this paste or spread on bread made from sardines called pasta do mar sardinha. Better than butter on bread.

• Enameled religious medallions which I found in antique shops sold from between 21 and 150 euros (the exchange rate was P67 to one euro). The medallions came in 19-carat gold (not 18 carat) and the older pieces had surface cracks and imperfections (if you scrutinize under a x18 magnifying loupe), but to the naked eye, the flaws are practically invisible. There were also enameled religious icons – beautiful for their rich colors but quite expensive ranging from 200 euros and up.

• The Holy Miracle of Santarem. This consecrated host turned into the body and flesh of Christ. The host can be seen today encased in a beautiful crystal container labeled PYX in the Church of the Holy Miracle in nearby Santarem, Portugal.

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E-mail the author at lettyjlopez@hotmail.com for the full story of the Miracle of Santarem.