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Each year Bloemfontein’s Catholic Portuguese celebrate their May Feast at the Sacred Heart Cathedral in St George Street. This religious festival – typically held over a weekend in May – honours Our Lady of Fátima. Rosa Maria Jardim of Bloemfontein explained that the local May Feast was originally initiated by the Portuguese community to “honour and thank the Virgin Mary for blessings received”.

Girls dressed in white walking in the procession during the May Feast held at the Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bloemfontein, May 1981. (Photo: The Friend)

Officially known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima (Nossa Senhora de Fátima), Our Lady of Fátima is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus. The name Fátima refers to the village in central Portugal where Mary appeared before three shepherd children more than a century ago. Fátima is situated 29 km southeast of the city of Leiria and about 113 km northeast of Lisbon.

Rosa Maria Jardim, Bloemfontein, 2024. (Photo: Derek du Bruyn)

On 13 May 1917, Mary appeared for the first time before Lucia dos Santos (10; sources differ concerning the children’s ages at the time of the apparitions) and her cousins Francisco (9) and Jacinta Marto (7) while they were tending their flock. Subsequently, Mary appeared before the children on the 13th of each of the following five months. The final appearance happened on 13 October. The Fátima appearances are among the most famous “Marian apparitions” and interpreted as expressions of Mary’s ongoing love and care for the church. Other supernatural appearances by Mary include Our Lady of Guadalupe (1531, Mexico) and Our Lady of Lourdes (1858, France).

The iconic photo of the three shepherd children who saw Mother Mary appearing before them are, from left, Lucia dos Santos, Francisco Marto and Jacinta Marto, c. 1917. While Francisco and Jacinta died at a young age because of the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918–1920, Lucia lived to the age of 97. (Photo: Wikipedia)children. (Image: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bloemfontein)
A depiction of Mother Mary’s appearance before the three shepherd children. (Image: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bloemfontein)

During her appearances Mary encouraged the children to pray the rosary for world peace. She also revealed a three-part “secret” to them. Reportedly, she warned them of the reality of hell and the importance of saving souls; the coming of future upheavals (World War II and Soviet communism); and the future persecution of the Catholic Church (later interpreted as the assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in 1981). It is believed that the Fátima apparitions are the “most prophetic of modern apparitions”. To date almost four hundred supernatural appearances by Mary have been recorded worldwide but not all of them are officially approved by the Vatican. The initial responsibility of judging the authenticity of an apparition rests with the bishop of the diocese in which the appearance took place. The appearances of Our Lady of Fátima were declared “worthy of credence” by the then Bishop of Leiria, José Alves Correia da Silva, in c. 1929–1930.

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima. (Image: Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bloemfontein)

Since official approval of the Fátima apparitions was granted by the Vatican, the village became a magnet for Catholics. In addition to a shrine (Santuário de Fátima), the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário) was erected and consecrated in 1953. Today, Fátima features a complex of religious buildings and structures that attract thousands of people who go on romarias (pilgrimages). In fact, the Santuário de Fátima has become one of the Catholic world’s most popular shrines because Our Lady of Fátima is worshipped globally. For most pilgrims the journey to Fátima is a spiritual one to show repentance, seek forgiveness, receive healing, experience spiritual deepening, and, above all, to honour and worship Mary. These pilgrimages are preferably made in May to coincide with the annual celebration of the first apparition.

Despite the distance between South Africa and Portugal, many Catholic Portuguese-South Africans have felt urged to make a pilgrimage to Fátima. Carlos da Cruz Nunes of Bloemfontein, whose mother Maria de Lourdes Cruz Nunes sang in the Portuguese choir that performed at May Feasts in the past, described himself as “a very big follower of Fátima”. One of his childhood memories of growing up in Portugal was of his mother walking from the village where she lived all the way to Fátima with only bread and water for sustenance. Carlos explained that it was customary for thousands of Catholics to make a pilgrimage to Fátima at least once in their lifetime. When he and his wife went on such a pilgrimage, they saw entire families traveling together to Portugal’s most holy place.

Carlos Nunes, Bloemfontein, 2023. (Photo: Derek du Bruyn)

 In Fátima and all over the world Catholic Portuguese celebrate the “feast days”, whether on the 13th of May, June, July, August, September, or October. Each festival has its own character; some celebrations are entirely religious while others are a blend of the religious and the secular. Bloemfontein’s Portuguese community, a significant number of whom are Catholic, honours Our Lady of Fátima with an annual May Feast. The two-day festival is an inclusive event that caters for the whole family. Moreover, it is a beautiful and moving occasion reminiscent of a wedding celebration. Bloemfontein’s May Feast has also become a cultural festival that offers Portuguese food, traditions, music, and folk dancing. For this reason, the May Feast is also attended by non-Catholics and even non-believers. Who can say no to a succulent prego roll with piri-piri sauce?

The May Feast of 2024 kicked off on the Saturday evening with Mass in the cathedral, followed by a candle procession. The rest of the evening belonged to the young at heart; a lively youth festival in a marquee tent with a DJ playing popular music provided opportunity for dancing. The May Feast’s main episode took place on Sunday, starting with a Mass service held in a flower-filled cathedral. The almost two-hour-long service paid homage to Our Lady of Fátima and included the choir performances, communal singing, prayers and a sermon. The service was followed by a procession round the cathedral grounds. A statue of Our Lady of Fátima carried by four men wearing tunics in the same blue and white colours as Our Lady’s robe took centre stage. Sounds of chanting, praying and singing, and the pungent smell of incense filled the air.

The May Feast procession in honour of Our Lady of Fátima, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bloemfontein, May 2024. (Photo: Derek du Bruyn)
A statue of Our Lady of Fátima featured prominently in the May Feast procession, Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bloemfontein, May 2024. (Photo: Derek du Bruyn)

Towards the late afternoon, the incense made way for the mouth-watering aroma of espetadas (kebabs on bay tree sticks) being cooked on open fires. These and other traditional Portuguese delicacies, such as dobrada (appetising tripe and vegetable stew), pastéis de nata (Portuguese milk tartlets) and Madeira cake (almond-flavoured sponge cake) beckoned the crowds to the marquee. After a time of fellowship, feasting on Portuguese fare, and performances by Portuguese singers, the festivities were concluded with a colourful show of traditional bailinho dancing. Bailinho (also known as Bailinho da Madeira) is the folk dance of the Portuguese island of Madeira, where many South African Portuguese and their ancestors originally came from. Accompanied by lively music, bailinho symbolises the Madeiran people’s daily life, pastoral traditions, and love for one another.

Our Lady of Fátima’s love for humanity and a sense of community were shown by the spirit of goodwill that was present at the May Feast. Moreover, the acceptance of all people – Catholic or non-Catholic, Christian or non-Christian, Portuguese or non-Portuguese – was demonstrated by the diversity of people who came to enjoy the festivities. Our Lady of Fátima is no longer a Portuguese national symbol only; instead, as “Mother of God” and “Queen of Heaven” she has become a motherly figure with global appeal. After more than a century since Our Lady’s first apparition, her followers remain committed to her call for “… a renewed fidelity to penance and prayer and continual conversion of heart”.

A group of young people and children, whose faces are blurred to protect their identities, performing traditional bailinho dancing at the May Feast, Bloemfontein, May 2024. (Photo: Derek du Bruyn)

Sources

 Barton, D. 2007. Apparitions of Our Lady in their historical context. The Church in History Information Centre. http://www.churchinhistory.org/pages/booklets/apparitions.pdf

Brink, A.P. 1970. Fado. Cape Town: Human & Rousseau.

Cooper O’Boyle, D.-M. 2017. Our Lady of Fatima: then and now. Vision 73: 1, 3-5. https://crossworks.holycross.edu/dca004-visi-usa-1992/73

Ferreira, O.J.O. & le Roux, S.W. 2009. Sagres & Suiderkruis: raakpunte tussen Portugal en Suid-Afrika deur vyf eeue.  Gordonsbay: Adamastor.

Jardim, M. 2000. Cooking the Portuguese way in South Africa. Johannesburg: Penguin Books.

National Museum Oral History Collection: J.C. da Cruz Nunes, 6 September 2023.

Opello, W.C. 1991. Portugal: from monarchy to pluralist democracy. Boulder: Westview Press.

Personal Communication: B. Cossavella (Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bloemfontein), 22 May 2024; R.M. Jardim, 1 June 2024.

Von Klimo, A. 2022. The cult of Our Lady of Fátima – modern Catholic devotion in an age of nationalism, colonialism, and migration. Religions 13(11): Art. 1028 [1–19]. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13111028

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