Pilgrim Blog 29 - Afternoon Walk, Wednesday 2 Aug

8/8/2023

Before our pilgrimage path takes us away from the city of Lisbon and out to the riverside park where the vigil and closing Mass for WYD was held, I want to back track to Wednesday afternoon.

After the very late night and early morning, following the first session of catechesis the next order of business was a siesta. Then with Oliver and a few others we went on an expedition, south of our hotel, to look at some of the older churches nearer to the river, and also find some dinner.

The two towers of the façade of Lisbon Cathedral are just visible against the Tagus River.
This view is from Miradouro de São Pedro de Alcântara observation deck opposite the Convento de São Pedro de Alcântara, Lisbon, Portugal.

Our first stop was the Church of St Roch, it is one of the earliest Jesuit churches in the world. In the early 16th century Lisbon experienced plague, and this site was the plague cemetery in that era. Because St Roch is known as the patron saint of plague victims, the then King of Portugal requested a relic of St Roch, and the people began to build a shrine - to display that relic for veneration and intercession- adjacent to the cemetery. It became a Jesuit church in 1553 until the Jesuits were expelled in 1759, when it became the headquarters of a charitable organisation known as the Holy House of Mercy.

Why St Roch? He lived in the 14th century and when his parents died, he decided to become a third order Franciscan and to undertake a pilgrimage to Rome depending upon the providence of God. When he reached Rome, he found an epidemic of plague and he set himself to helping the sick. People were cured when he prayed for them, made the sign of the Cross over them and touched them with his hand. For a while he became a hermit, continuing to live dependent upon God’s providence. Eventually he made his way home, and was arrested under suspicion of being a spy, and left to die in prison. When he died, a heavenly scroll was found, on it was written that God had granted to him his prayer: that whoever meekly invokes the intercession of St Roch shall not be hurt with any hurt of pestilence.

The top panel depicts Pentecost, the niche underneath it has crowned statues of Mary and Jesus. On either side, the four statues of men garbed in black represent St Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, and St Francis Xavier, St Aloysius Gonzaga and St Francis Borga, three very well-known Jesuit Saints. St Aloysius Gonzaga is likely the one on the top right because he died aged 23.

This elaborate ceiling was painted in the 16th century; and is actually a flat surface but painted on wooden panels to give the illusion that there is a barrel-vaulted roof with three domes. Even the mother house of the Jesuits, the Gesu in Rome, has a ceiling painted in this illusionist style.

This icon was on display on the left-hand side of the sanctuary area of the church. It is a colourful rendition of the more somber version carried with the World Youth Day Cross, and likewise a more somber version of the original in Rome.

The six candles with the crucifix in the middle denote that they are sitting on an altar below the line of sight of the photo. Above is a quite extraordinary collection of the relics of saints, obviously Jesuit martyrs since the church was active during a time of missionary expansion across the world, but also other saints from Europe. Such a collection would take several centuries to gather. The majority of these relics have official papal documentation of authenticity.

This photo was taken in the Chapel of the Holy Family. Behind the statues - and quite difficult to see properly - is a depiction of the young Jesus among the doctors of the Law. The statues show the Holy Family in standing position, and Jesus as a pre-adolescent boy and not as a baby.

Vincent Cavanagh #bbwyd
#wydlisbon #wyd2023 #lisboa2023
2 Aug 2023, 8.28pm Portugal | 3 Aug 2023, 5.28am Sydney

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