DAY 6, April 24
Reflection by Drew MacDonald ’25
Boa noite from Lisboa!
I am currently writing this in traffic on the 25 of April bridge at 9:45 PM, as we are still driving back from beautiful Fátima. Today we had a busy but amazing last day in Portugal! We woke up this morning at 7 AM for our final breakfast, and, after a stop at the store for bus snacks, we embarked on our busiest day yet. We left at 9 for a bit of a journey — almost two hours to Fátima — 80 miles north of Lisbon.
Fátima is a quaint, quiet town in the center of Portugal, with only about 13,000 residents. It is famous, however, its religious significance in the Catholic church, being home to an appearance of the Virgin Mary in 1917, in the middle of WWI. Three local shepherd children: Jacinta, Francisco, Luciana witnessed the Virgin Mary on a hilltop outside of the center, upon which there is now an immense series of basilicas and chapels.
We arrived to the best weather we’ve had yet for lunch in the village. There were a plethora of restaurant choices (serving mostly cod, of course), and we all finished lunch within the hour, an impressive feat Portuguese restaurants! After lunch we enjoyed a quick walk back to the church for rehearsal.
After our rehearsal (in an extremely hot room), we performed at a mass in Fátima’s outdoor chapel in the center of the site. The celebration was beautiful, rearranging music from our previous liturgy to perfect the mass at Fátima. We had a great conversation with one of the priests who was Jesuit at Boston College, and who spoke of us about becoming priests ourselves.
We immediately returned to the rehearsal room, where we were introduced to two different youth choirs, one from Dijon, France, and another local Portuguese choir. They introduced us to a breathtaking new song, one which we were able to perform together during one of Fátima’s famous rosary prayer ceremonies. Finally, we concluded our amazing performance with an Ave Maria.
We then departed the site (we may have gotten a bit lost on the way out), going straight to the bus ride home. By 7:30, we were on the road (after a chaotic clothes change on the bus), and after a bit of traffic in Lisbon, here we are. This has been our busiest day yet, but we couldn’t have asked for a better conclusion the trip.
Muito obrigado to everyone that made this possible!
BC High Concert Choir 