The effervescence of the romarias in the north of the country
Whether you are a believer or not, attending a romaria, a religious procession open to all, which honors the patron saints of Portuguese cities, plunges you into the heart of a centuries-old tradition. The romarias attract thousands of people every year, especially in the north of the country, in Porto and in Lisbon. Their rites and customs vary from region to region and from city to city. During the day, processions of the faithful parade through the streets, singing, praying... taking with them the passers-by. In the evening, Bacchus, the king of good food, is honored. People eat and drink in the street, sometimes more than they should.
The most important romaria is that of Nossa Senhora da Agonia, in Viana do Castelo, which takes place in August. It originated in the 18th century with the apparition of Our Lady of Agony in the Bom Jesus chapel, now renamed Nossa Senhora da Agonia chapel. During four days, the program is full. A historical procession goes through the streets of Viana do Castelo for two kilometers to show the customs and habits of the city. The folkloric parade of more than 400 women in traditional dress is a beautiful sight for the eyes and will not end soon. On Saint John's Day (São João), a very important saint in Portugal who represents abundance and fertility, Braga and Oporto are in a frenzy. And this, even before June 23, the official date of the celebration. In Braga the festivities last a week with historical processions, street entertainment, philharmonic concerts and a fireworks display on the evening of St. John's Day. In Oporto, the San Juan festivities begin at the end of May and last until the end of June, during which time excellent concerts take place in the city, such as the NOS Primavera Sound at the Parque da Cidade and the Porto Blues Fest at the Crystal Palace Garden. It is customary to hit each other with big plastic hammers, to walk around with olho-porro (garlic-leeks), plants that look like purple dandelions, and to make lanterns fly.
Lisbon celebrates in June Saint Anthony of Padua (Santo António), a Franciscan priest and missionary who was born in Lisbon at the end of the 12th century and died 36 years later in Italy, near Padua. He was canonized by Pope Gregory IX in 1232 for his numerous cures. Sailors made him known on the new lands discovered. Saint Anthony became the saint of Portugal. Among the popular marches of the month of June, it is on June 12 that the most people, Portuguese and foreigners, gather. Hundreds of people march down the Avenida da Liberdade. People also decorate their houses with pots of basil (manjerico) and cook grilled sardines (sardinha assada) whose smell fills the streets.
Passion for pilgrimages!
All the pilgrimages in Portugal are, as you may have guessed, dedicated to the Catholic religion since it is predominant. The most impressive is the Fátima pilgrimage. If you are in Portugal on May 12-13 or October 12-13, you will witness the convergence of thousands of pilgrims, most of them kneeling at the shrine of Our Lady of Fátima. In 2017 Pope Francis visited to celebrate 100 years since the apparitions of the Virgin Mary before three shepherd brothers and sister between May 12 and October 13. She would then have delivered the message of Fátima, thus justifying the construction of the sanctuary, built on the Cova. It is on this esplanade that pilgrims gather. Opposite is the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary, built in 1928, where you can see the tombs of two of the three shepherds, Francisco and Jacinta Marto, who died young in 1919 and 1920, and of their sister Lucia dos Santos, who became a Carmelite nun and died in 2005.
Less known than the French route and, above all, less travelled, the pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela can be followed by the Portuguese coast. The official departure is in Porto. You will notice the famous shell symbol along the Douro River, heading north. The 141-kilometer route, completed in 2017, follows an old pilgrimage route dating back to the 16th century. It goes as far as Valença on the Spanish border. On the 99-kilometer route to Santiago, the Church of Mercy in Viana do Castelo is an architectural marvel.
In Braga, the pilgrimage to Bom Jesus, the cradle of Western Iberian Christianity, requires the faithful, but also visitors who would like to reach the perched shrine from the city, to climb stairs that form a veritable way of the cross. Along the way, 17 chapels have been built and sometimes rebuilt following voluntary demolitions. In August 2023, Pope
Francis and the Catholic Church invite young people from all over the world to Lisbon for the World Youth Days.
The taboo of bruxaria, the traditional Portuguese cure
Considered by some as witchcraft, by others as an alternative way of healing or accused of charlatanism, bruxaria is an integral part of popular beliefs in Portugal. It aims to help a person find relief from a distressing situation in his or her life: depression, trauma, fear... Despite the virulent reactions of the Catholic Church and science, consulting a bruxa or a bruxo (literally "the one who guesses things") is a widespread practice in Portuguese society, but one that remains very taboo. Few people claim to have met a bruxo to get help, even from their relatives. However, the waiting rooms of these "healers of the soul" are always full. The bruxo would have the morada aberta, that is to say the "open body", able to communicate with the beyond and to play a role of medium between the here and the elsewhere. A bruxaria session would consist of taking the injured person out of the norm (the society in which he or she finds himself or herself), putting him or her "on the margins" during the consultation and then bringing him or her back into this norm, healed or at least appeased. Each bruxo has his own way of operating: pendulums, cartomancy, meditation, alone or in a group. What they all have in common is that they embody the spiritual guide of the person who consults them, who may be a deceased relative or an archangel, and bring him the solutions he needs. Authentic bruxos therefore help people to find peace in society and not outside of it. Many recommend bruxaria as a complement to conventional medicine. In his book The Bruxo, anthropologist Miguel Montenegro noted that cab drivers and housekeepers were good informants for finding one of these healers. Take the test!
