I was not brought up Catholic. In fact, the only Catholic services I have attended have been weddings. One, in particular, comes to mind. A 2.5-hour ordeal was spoken in three languages (Polish for the groom, Hungarian for the bride, and English for the majority of the congregants). Standing, kneeling, sitting … over and over again. Oddly enough, the wedding lasted only a few hours less than the marriage. But that is not the point…
Portugal and Catholicism
If you have been reading along, you know that Portugal first became a “Catholic” country under its first king, Alfonso Henriques who declared it a vassal state. (Of course, the Romans had brought the religion to the region much earlier, and maintained a stronghold in the north despite the Moorish occupation in the south.) Alfonso’s declaration meant the country answered to the pope and provided the church significant land deeds. As the Portuguese Empire expanded Catholicism was spread far and wide.
The Inquisition spread to Portugal in 1497 and the church’s intolerance increased. Fast forward to the mid-18th century. You may recall me mentioning the Marques de Pombal. Through his decisive leadership following the 1755 earthquake he gained increased power:
Despite entrenched opposition from the hereditary Portuguese nobility, Pombal gained Joseph's confidence and, by 1755, was the king's de facto chief minister… Pombal was appointed as Secretary of State for Internal Affairs in 1757 and consolidated his authority during the Távora affair of 1759, which resulted in the execution of leading members of the aristocratic party and allowed Pombal to suppress the Society of Jesus. In 1759, Joseph granted Pombal the title of Count of Oeiras and, in 1769, that of Marquis of Pombal. - Wikipedia
As a Liberal Reformer, Pombal did not support the Church’s role in government. He banished the Jesuits, returned education to state control, and ended Roman control. The anti-church movement survived his removal from office. And in 1910, the First Republic of Portugal abolished many religious institutions, seized church property, and banned several religious festivals. Cancelling religious festivals was not popular with many Portuguese who in time supported the the new conservative dictatorship:
In 1928, Antonio de Oliveira Salazar seized control of the country. For the next 40 years, Salazar would rule the country under his own beliefs in Roman Catholicism… Salazar declared that the foundations of the country would be the family, the church, and Christianity.
In 1940, Salazar signed an agreement with the Vatican granting the Catholic church certain powers within Portugal. This act served to undo many of the reforms that had been made starting in the 18th century. — Portugal Online
Easter Week
While the separation of church and State was codified into the Portuguese constitution in 1976, 80-85% of the population remains Catholic. I noticed a list of the Holy Week festivities above on the municipal website, and on the town square. The procession you see at the top of this post is from Easter morning. The morning mass crowd extended out of the doorway into the square. Transit police blocked streets in town to allow the procession and its followers to pass safely. A similar procession was observed on Palm Sunday (see photo below).
We also observed that many of the businesses and government offices were closed on Good Friday as it is an official public holiday. Traditionally, on this day, children offer gifts to their godparents. Godfathers return the gesture on Easter, offering sweet treats to the children. Denise and I are particularly fond of the hard-coated, chocolate covered almonds that seem to be everywhere at this time of year. And yes, there were a few bunnies too. But mostly I was struck by the many public observances during Easter week. Just one of so many new experiences while living in Portugal.
You may have noticed: If you came directly to this site today, rather than via an email, you might have noticed that ExpatinPortugal has a different landing/front page. I learned about this alternative look from my friend Carol Wilcox. I was unaware she had a blog Our Portugal Journey until this past week. Odd…I have known her and her husband Paul for about 9 months! We first met in Cascais at an impromptu ExpatinPortugal readers’ luncheon. When I asked why she hadn’t shared this with me sooner, she explained she wanted to wait until there was sufficient content to make a visit to her site worthwhile. Well, there is plenty of content there now…so check it out!
Easter in Portugal