"A Little Piece About Portugal, My Country"

Portugal is one of the oldest nations in Europe having established its continental frontier as it is set today on 1297.
Portugal has been an independent kingdom since 1143 When D. Afonso Henriques rebelled against his mother to wrestle
the Condado Portucalense away from the Kingdom of Leon .

Portugal is located on the west side of the Iberian Peninsula, ideally positioned between Spain and the Atlantic ocean.
Its geographic location along the Atlantic coastline is the reason why Portugal quickly became an ocean-bound country setting the stage for centuries of sea adventure and discoveries.

1415 was the year that set the tone for centuries to come. under the guidance of Prince Henry "The Navigator",
the Portuguese set sail on epic voyages that would make them the first to discover the ocean routes to India, Brazil,
China and Japan, while at the same time founding settlements on both African coasts.

Traces of this worldwide historic presence may be seen as trademarks of the Portuguese culture. The Portuguese language
became one of the most widely spoken in the world, and the Portuguese people were privileged for being exposed to so many different civilizations. The vast monumental, artistic and archaeological heritage witness not only the 850 years of history of encounters with distant cultures, but also the presence in the territory of more ancient peoples (Celts, Suevians,
Visigoths, Romans and Arabs).

Portugal's natural advantages of a sunny country with such diverse geographic features have turned the country into
a chosen destination for many holidaymakers, an ideal place for practicing water sports and playing golf,
offering modern tourism facilities, and quaint and personalized means of accommodation, such as ‘turismo de habitação’ (privately owned homes ranging from wonderful farmhouses to manor houses), ‘hotéis de charme’ or ‘P ousadas’.

Portugal is around the size of Scotland with twice the population and has tremendous variety
both geographically and in its ways of life and traditions. Along the coast around Lisbon, and on the well-Portugal developed Algarve in the south, there are highly sophisticated resorts, while the vibrant capital Lisbon has enough going on to please most city devotees. But in its rural areas this is still a conspicuously underdeveloped country, and there are plenty of opportunities to experience smaller towns and countryside regions that have changed little in the past century.

In terms of population, and of customs, differences between the north and south are particularly striking. Above a line more or less corresponding with the course of the River Tejo, the people are of predominantly Celtic and Germanic stock. It was here, at Guimarães, that the "Lusitanian" nation was born, in the wake of the Christian re-conquest from the North African Moors. South of the Tejo, where the Moorish and Roman civilizations were most established, people tend to be darker-skinned and maintain more of a "Mediterranean" lifestyle.
More recent events are woven into the pattern. The 1974 revolution came from the south - an area of vast estates,
rich landowners and a dependent workforce - while the conservative backlash of the 1980s came from the north,
with its powerful religious authorities and individual smallholders wary of change. More profoundly even than the revolution, emigration has altered people's attitudes and the appearance of the countryside. After Lisbon, the largest Portuguese
community is in Paris, and there are migrant workers spread throughout France and Germany.
Returning to Portugal, these emigrants have brought in modern ideas and challenged many traditional rural values.

The greatest of all Portuguese influences, however, is the sea . The Portuguese are very conscious of themselves as a seafaring race; mariners like Vasco da Gama led the way in the exploration of Africa and the Americas, and until 1976 Portugal remained a colonial power. The colonies brought African and South American strands to the country's culture: in the distinctive music of fado , sentimental songs heard in Lisbon and Coimbra, for example, or in the Moorish-influenced and Manueline architecture that abounds in coastal towns like Belém and Viana do Castelo.

Since Portugal is so compact,
it's easy to take in something of each of its elements.
Scenically, the most interesting parts of the country are in the north:
the Minho, green, damp, and often startling in its rural customs;
and the sensational gorge and valley of the Douro, followed along its course by the railway, off which antiquated branch lines edge into remote Trás-os-Montes.
For contemporary interest, spend some time in both Lisbon and Porto,
the only two cities of real size.
And if it's monuments you're after, the centre of the country
- above all,
Coimbra and Évora - retain a faded grandeur.
The coast is virtually continuous beach, and apart from the Algarve
and a few pockets around Lisbon and Porto,
resorts remain low-key and thoroughly Portuguese,
with great stretches of deserted sands between them.
Perhaps the loveliest are along the northern Costa Verde around Viana do Castelo,
or, for isolation, the wild beaches of southern Alentejo .
Words are not enough to describe Portugal.
You must go and see for yourself.
It is a trip you will never forget

Portugal emerged as a country in 1143, after a 15 year rebellion by Dom Afonso Henriques (Afonso I). Afonso Henriques defeated his mother Countess Teresa of Portugal, regent of the County (Condado) of Portugal and loyal to the Kingdom
of Leon at the battle of Sao Mamede (Batalha de Sao Mamede) near the town of Guimaraes, in June of 1128.
Countess Teresa was imprisoned and exiled by her son, and died in 1130. Guimaraes is therefore known as the birthplace
city of Portugal.

However the true test of an independent nation did not happened until 1385 when Joao Mestre de Avis (John of Avis)
with the help of legendary supreme constable Nuno Alvares Pereira defeated the Castiliansat the epic Aljubarrota battle
where the Castilians outnumbered the Portuguese 6:1. John I (Dom Joao I) was crowned King of Portugal. John I along
with his sons, Duarte (to became the King in succession), Henry The Navigator, and Afonso started the "Golden Decades"
of worldwide discoveries (15th and 16th centuries).

Following its heyday as a world power during the 15th and 16th centuries, Portugal lost much of its wealth and status with the destruction of Lisbon in a 1755 earthquake, occupation during the Napoleonic Wars, and the independence in 1822 of Brazil
as a colony.

A 1911 revolution deposed the monarchy with the decapitation of King Manuel I and his son.

For most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. Antonio Salazar a right wing fascist ran the country with an iron fist and a austere economic plan which slowly buried Portugal deeper and deeper on its third world status within Europe. Salazar also held on to the colonies of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea, having contributed not just to the deplorable state of those Countries, but also to a colonial wars which killed hundreds of thousands of Portuguese man.

In 1974, a left-wing military coup installed broad democratic reforms, which had the opposite effect. Too much freedom too quickly placed the country in total "democratic chaos" with union bosses, corrupt politicians, and left-wing and right-wing extremists taking turns on plundering the country, with disastrous economic and labor plans. Starting in 1976 Portugal granted independence to all of its African colonies, and a wave of refugees were poorly assimilated on a society that does not value ethnicity to this day.

After successive governments led by communists, socialists and social-democrats continue its miss-management of Portugal, at last the social-democratic government of Prime-minister Cavaco da Silva brought prosperity and double digit economic growth in the late 80's and early 90's. It helped that the Portugal joined the EC in 1986. Joining the EC, gave the country a boost with
a flurry of grants and investments that contributed to new roads, and overall upgrade of a dilapidated infrastructure.

However with the disastrous miss-management of the Socialist government of Prime-minister Antonio Guterres, and the Social-democratic government of Prime-minister Jose Manuel Barroso (promptly promoted to President of the European Commission) and his successor Santana Lopes, the country embarked on a 0% growth rate with a growing economic deficit. Added to this is the cessation of funds from the EC without a source of replacement.

In 2005 President Sampaio dismissed the government and called new elections. The Socialists were brought to power with the majority of vote and new Prime-Minister Jose Socrates impact remains to be seen. Portugal is currently in economic crisis with 0% economic growth rate and projections that, if accounting for the fluctuation of interest rates set by the central bank, will be negative in 2006.

Mario Soares, a popular Prime-Minister and President decades ago, came out of retirement to run for President in 2006 against his political nemesis Cavaco da Silva. Cavaco da Silva soundly beat Soares becoming the current president of Portugal.

Portugal is a founding member of NATO.

"General History"

Portugal emerged as a country in 1143, after a 15 year rebellion by Dom Afonso Henriques (Afonso I). Afonso Henriques defeated his mother Countess Teresa of Portugal, regent of the County (Condado) of Portugal and loyal to the Kingdom of Leon at the battle of Sao Mamede (Batalha de Sao Mamede) near the town of Guimaraes, in June of 1128. Countess Teresa was imprisoned and exiled by her son, and died in 1130. Guimaraes is therefore known as the birthplace city of Portugal.

However the true test of an independent nation did not happened until 1385 when Joao Mestre de Avis (John of Avis) with the help of legendary supreme constable Nuno Alvares Pereira defeated the Castilians at the epic Aljubarrota battle where the Castilians outnumbered the Portuguese 6:1. John I (Dom Joao I) was crowned King of Portugal. John I along with his sons, Duarte (to became the King in succession), Henry The Navigator, and Afonso started the "Golden Decades" of worldwide discoveries (15th and 16th centuries).

Antonio Oliveira Salazar

A 1911 revolution deposed the monarchy with the assassination of King Manuel I and his son. For most of the next six decades, repressive governments ran the country. Antonio Salazar a right wing fascist ran the country with an iron fist and a austere economic plan which slowly buried Portugal deeper and deeper on its third world status within Europe. Salazar also held on to the colonies of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea, having contributed not just to the deplorable state of those Countries, but also to a colonial wars which killed hundreds of thousands of Portuguese man.

Jorge Sampaio

After successive governments led by communists, socialists and social-democrats continued their
miss-management of Portugal, at last the social-democratic government of Prime-minister Cavaco da Silva
brought prosperity and double digit economic growth in the late 80's and early 90's. It helped that the Portugal joined the EC in 1986. Joining the EC, gave the country a boost with a flurry of grants and investments that contributed to new roads, and overall upgrade of a dilapidated infrastructure.

However with the disastrous miss-management of the Socialist government of Prime-minister Antonio Guterres, and the Social-democratic government of Prime-minister Jose Manuel Barroso (promptly promoted to President
of the European Commission) and his successor Santana Lopes, the country embarked on a 0% growth rate with
a growing economic deficit. Added to this is the cessation of funds from the EC without a source of replacement.

Anibal Cavaco Silva

In 2006, Mario Soares, a popular Prime-Minister and President decades ago, came out of retirement to run for President in 2006 against his political nemesis Cavaco da Silva. Cavaco da Silva soundly beat Soares becoming the current president of Portugal.

"Fatima"

Fatima is a town in Portugal famous for the religious visions that are said to have taken place there in 1917.
Fatima is a town (vila) of approximately 10,000 inhabitants located in the district of Santarém in central Portugal,
187 km south of Porto and 123 km north off Lisbon. Fátima is a parish in the municipality of Ourem.
A recent attempt in July 2003 to have the town declared a concelho was vetoed by President Jorge Sampaio, causing some controversy. Fatima's centerpiece is the shrine called the Sanctuary of Fatima, built to commemorate the events of 1917 when three peasant children claimed to have seen the "Virgin of the Rosary", Our Lady of Fatima. Fatima now attracts hosts of believers from far and wide, particularly on the pilgrimage days, and the shrine has been developed on a correspondingly large scale. The large torch-light processions in the evening are particularly impressive. The pilgrims gather in Cova da Ion a huge esplanade in which is built a little chapel where the Virgin is believed to have appeared to the children. Around the esplanade
are a considerable number of shops and stalls selling all kinds of religious articles. On the far side of the esplanade rises the gigantic basilica, in neo-classical style, with a central tower 65 meters high, the construction of which was begun on 13 of May 1928. It is flanked by colonnades linking it with the extensive conventual and hospital buildings. In the basilica are the tombs
of two of the three seers, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, who died in 1919 and 1920 respectively,
and were beatified in 1970. The third seer, Lucia dos Santos, died in 2005.

142 km (88 miles) North of Lisbon, Fátima is one of the most important shrines of the world dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
This Sanctuary welcomes millions of pilgrims and tourists from all over the world. The fame of this place is the result of the Apparitions of Our Lady of the Rosary to three shepherd children Lúcia and her cousins, Francisco and Jacinta that, between May and October of 1917, witnessed successive apparitions. The last one, on October 13th, was confirmed by a miracle
witnessed by 70,000 people "on the day the sun danced".

2)
The Recinto
On the colonnade in front of the Basilica, statues of four Portuguese Saints can be seen: St. John of God, St. John
of Brito,
St. Anthony and Bl. Nuno of Santa Maria. From one side
to the other, from left to right, are the following saints:
St. Teresa of Avila, St. Francis de Sales, Bl. Marcelino de Champagnat, St. John Baptist de la Salle, St. Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri, St. Jonh Bosco with
St. Dominic Savio, St. Louis Marie Grignon de Montfort, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Simon Stock, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Paul of the Cross and St. Beatrice da Silva.
The white marble statue in the niche above the entrance
to the Basilica, sculptored by Fr. Thomas McGlynn,
OR, shows Our Lady in one of her apparitions when
she urged devotion to her Immaculate Heart.
3)
Perpetual Adoration Chapel
Placed at the end of the colonnade,
on the eastern side, this chapel
for perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament exposed,
is a place of silent prayer and adoration
5)
Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Which stands in the center of the square,
over a spring found there,
its waters being the instrument of many graces.
6)
House of Our Lady Dolours
Situated behind the Chapel of Apparitions, it is destined to receive
the Sick during the great pilgrimages, and also for retreats and accommodation for pilgrims in general.
7)
Rectory
A building on the right side of the esplanade,
in the House of Our Lady of Carmel.
8)
House of Our Lady of Carmel
Which is above and behind the Rectory, with accommodation for 250
9)
Berlin Wall
At the entrance of the Sanctuary, on the south side of the Rectory,
one may visit a monument of the Berlin Wall's, consisting of a concrete segment that was part of it. (The Walls construction started during the night between the 12th. and 13th. of August, 1961 and its demolition began the 9th. of November, 1989) This segment was offered by means of Virgilio Casimiro Ferreira, a Portuguese emigrant to Germany and
is here placed as a grateful memorial of God's intervention for the fall
of Communism as promised at Fatima. The segment weighs 2,600 kilos (5,732 lbs.) and measures 3.60 meters (11 ft. 9 in.) high by 1.20 meters (3 ft. in.) wide. The present monument was designed by the architect
J. Carlos Loureiro and was inaugurated on the 13th.
of August, 1994.
11)
Via Sacre
The Holy Way is composed of 14 little chapels in memory of the Passion of Our Lord. and a 15th corresponding to the Resurrection Beneath the Calvary there is a Chapel dedicated to St Stephen of Hungary. The first 14 Stations were offered by Catholic Hungarian refugees in western countries, and were inaugurated on 12 May 1964: the 15th on 13 October 1992, in the presence of the Ambassador of Hungary, the country now liberated from Communism The Holly Way begins at the south Rotunda of Saint Teresa, and follows the path which the little shepherds took when going from Aljustrel to the Cova da Iria.

15
Loco do Anjo
Where the children received the first and third visit
of the "Angel of Peace" (Spring end autumn of 1916).
16)
The Homes of the Little Shepherds
At the bottom of the garden of Lucia's home is the well, where the "Angel of Peace", the "Angel of Portugal", appeared for the second time.
17) Ethnographic Museum (near Lucia's house)

1)
Chapel of Apparitions
The very heart
of the Sanctuary.
It was the first edifice constructed in the Cova da Iria, at the place of:
Our Lady's Apparitions.
The exact spot is marked
by a marble pillar on which the Statue of Our Lady is placed.
Here converge the four million pilgrims who visit the Sanctuary each year.

4)
Basilica
Begun in 1928 and consecrated on
7 October 1953,
its 15 altars are dedicated to the
15 mysteries of the Rosary.
The painting above the high altar depicts the Message of Our Lady to the little shepherds, prepared by the Angel of Portugal, through their encounter with Christ in the Eucharist.
The Bishop of the diocese is shown kneeling on the left side, and the figures of Pope Pius XII (who consecrated the world to the Immaculate Heart of Mary in 1942, and whose Legate crowned the Statue of
Our Lady in 1946), of Pope John XXIII and Pope Paul VI. Scenes of the apparitions are represented in stained glass, as well as invocations from the Litany of Our Lady. In the four corners of the Basilica interior are placed the statues of the great apostles of the Rosary and of devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary: St. Anthony Claret, St. Dominic of Gusman, St. John Eudes and St. Stephen, King of Hungary.
The tombs of Francisco and Jacinta are in the Basilica, and, in the chancel, are the mortal remains of D. José Alves Correia da Silva,
first Bishop of Leiria after its restoration in 1920.

10)
The monumental organ, mounted in 1952, has about 12 thousand pipes.

12)
The Big Holmoak
Under which the little shepherds
and the early pilgrims awaited Our Lady's coming, and prayed the Rosary.

13)
Paul VI Pastoral Center
Inaugurated on 13 May 1982, by Pope John Paul 11, as a center for study and reflection on the Message of Fatima, and of the problems of the modern world, in the light of the Gospel. The two auditoriums have seating for 2.124 and 700, and accommodation for 400 pilgrims.
High Cross
At the extreme south of the esplanade, it commemorates the closing of the Holy Year in 1951.
Monument to Pope Paul VI
Marking his pilgrimage to Fatima, on 13 May 1967.
Monument to Pope Pius XII
Erected as gift from German Catholics (1961)
14)
Valinhos
(400 meters from Aljustrel): the site of Our Lady's 4th apparition,
on 19 August 1917, marked by a monument.

"Upon this woman, the masterpiece of God's creation, would be bestowed many titles, each vying with the other to reflect in some manner her beauty, her dignity, her uniqueness, the qualities of her love. She will be called 'Mother of Divine Grace . . . Seat of Wisdom . . . Cause of our Joy . . . Spiritual Vessel . . . Mystical Rose . . . House of Gold . . . Ark of the Covenant . . . Gate of Heaven . . . Queen of Angels, Prophets and Apostles . . .' But no title will be greater than 'Mother of God.'

The Rosary of the most Blessed Virgin. The word Rosary comes from the Latin word Rosarium, a rose garden. The Rosary is a garden filled with lovingly repeated invocations to Our Lady, God the Father and the Blessed Trinity.
The Rosary of Our Lady consists of fifteen decades dedicated to fifteen mysteries in the life of Jesus and Mary.
It is piously believed that the Rosary was given to St. Dominic by Our Lady while he was combating the Albigensian heresy in
the South of France, early in the thirteenth century. It is also believed that the Rosary was in use long before that time as
"a poor man's Psalter," the 150 Hail Mary's taking the place of the 150 Psalms.
Whatever its origin, it has proved to be a powerful weapon against evil, and as Pope Leo XIII declared, the best and most
fruitful means of invoking Our Lady. Mary herself has called for its recitation many times, most notably at Fatima in 1917.
St. Louis De Montfort, the great and extraordinary preacher of the Rosary said: "Let me place the rosary around a sinner's
neck and he will not escape me." St. Dominic, great promoter of the Rosary said:
"A day will come when our Lady will save the world by the Rosary."

The End.