Experience a Native-Speaking Mass on Your Travels

This year our Church celebrates the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima. If you plan to visit Fatima, Portugal, during this milestone year, consider exploring more of the incredible country and attending Mass with the locals.

My husband and I traveled through Portugal last September, enjoying the scenery, history and culture of Lisbon, Sintra and Obidos.

Only a 45-minute train ride from Lisbon, Sintra possesses natural beauty and is famous for its fairytale-like castles. Some of the main attractions include the Castle of the Moors, Pena Palace and Gardens, and the grand estate of Quinta da Regaleira.

One of our days in Sintra included a Sunday, so we attended Mass at Igreja de São Pedro (Church of St. Peter).

Although a small church with only one Sunday Mass, every wooden pew filled in until there was standing room only.

The church’s most striking art covers the side walls; scriptural scenes with St. Peter were created through the combination of countless blue and white azulejos (colored tiles). Statues on display in São Pedro include the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Our Lady of Fatima, and St. Anthony of Padua, who is known in his home country as St. Anthony of Lisbon.

Its congregation, mostly comprised of older local folk, wore reverent attire. In spite of the 80-degree weather, they donned collared shirts or dresses.

Mass was celebrated in Portuguese, with a few familiar Hebrew words interspersed, like “Alleluia” and “Amen.”

The respect shown by the parishioners was refreshing; instead of talking in their pews after Mass, they stepped outside, preserving a prayerful atmosphere within.

I love attending Mass with the locals when traveling abroad. You might not understand most of the words, but with the structure of Holy Mass, you can follow along wherever you are in the world.

Seems like an obvious choice, right? Unfortunately, I’ve heard American travelers complain about getting stuck attending Mass in another language.

There are many pilgrimage groups that even strive to ensure their pilgrims always have a Mass in English, even if native-speaking Masses are available. Why not take these rare opportunities to immerse yourself in the Mass of the locals, celebrating our Faith as One Body in Christ? It’s a great way to experience the universality of the Church and to interact with our Catholic brothers and sisters in other parts of the world.

So if you’re visiting Fatima this year, I have two pieces of advice for you. First, be sure to attend at least one Mass in Portuguese with the locals. And second, pronounce “Fatima” as FAT-tee-muh rather than FAD-duh-muh. Otherwise the locals may have no idea what you’re saying. Lesson learned in Lisbon.