St. Francis by the Sea Catholic Church & School

Saturday July 29th 

Today we left Santiago de Compostela, Spain at 8:00 AM and started our 5-hour drive to Fátima. We stopped once for our driver and then stopped in Coimbra,Portugal for Mass. We arrived in Fatima at 5:30 PM. Today was a long day but not as many activities as previous days.

  The first stop we took was at a gas station about an hour away from Coimbra. This was  a mandatory stop for our driver. The second stop we took was in the city of Coimbra. We visited the St. Clare Monastery - home of the Poor Clare’s Order. On the property of the monastery was a beautiful chapel where St. Elizabeth of Portugal is entombed.  We didn’t stay at the monastery for long, but it was exciting to see a wedding finishing!

  For those of you who don’t know, St.Francis and St. Clare were friends and came from the same town, Assisi. Therefore, many statues and paintings of St. Francis are in this chapel. The church is beautifully located on a hill that looks over the city and river of Coimbra.

  After we visited the monastery we got back onto our bus and headed into town for lunch and Mass. We went to a very authentic Portuguese restaurant and had grilled cod with potatoes and cabbage, drizzled with garlic and olive oil. It was delicious and we were very happy that our tour guide gave us this local suggestion.  After lunch, we stopped at a cute little coffee shop for a “cafe con laite.”

Mid-afternoon we went to Mass. Mass was held in a beautiful church but we didn’t get much information about the church including the name. Mass was wonderful as always and Bishop Jacques was the celebrant.

  Mass finished at 4:00 and we then went to our bus for the hour drive to Fatima.  When we arrived at our hotel, we had a quick rest before our group dinner. Dinner consisted of lasagna and salad. While our hotel dinners have been delicious, we’ve noticed they seem to primarily serve American food to us!  For dessert we had a beautiful meringue that we bought earlier in town.  It was huge!

  Today was a long day but short at the same time. We still thank God for our many blessings and this experience. 

To view Olivia's Photos, please click on this link.