Brazil is a huge country of almost 200 million people spanning nearly three-fourths of the South American continent from the top eastern “shoulder” of S.A., down past São Paulo and Rio and west to the Amazon jungle. The country was first settled by the Portuguese and the people still speak that language. Our destination was Teresina, only 5 degrees south of the Equator, in the state of Piaui (pronounced “Pee-ow-wee”).

Ben attended school in Teresina during the last school year and met Tiatana who was one of the tutors in his Portuguese immersion program. Tiatana speaks excellent English and has a degree in English. Over and above that, as soon as we met her, we understood why Ben had fallen so completely in love with her when they met. She is a beautiful person, both inside and out, and indeed we all fell in love with her. (Our new daughter-in-law’s name is pronounced “Chia-tana” and is a combination of her two grandmother’s names).

Traveling several thousand miles to attend the wedding of your son to a person you’ve never met is more than a little stressful. Add to that the fact that they speak a different language there and it is very hot, and you come up with totally nerve-racking trip. However, from the first day, we all felt God’s hand on our shoulders as He sent one person after another into our lives to help us navigate the rocky shoals of foreign travel and in meeting dozens of new family members.

On Tuesday morning we were reminded it was the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, a big feast in Brazil (because of the Portuguese influence) and were invited to a lovely Mass at the Church of Our Lady of Fatima on Fatima Street. The church was so packed that many people had brought their own lawn chairs, which they set up in the aisles. The Mass lasted about 11/2 hours and there was such enthusiasm among the people, and such faith, it was contagious. Even though I didn’t understand the words, I certainly understood the spirit. The homily was really an interactive lesson as the priest was asking questions and people were answering. At one point Vania (our principal Guardian Angel in Brazil) told me that the people all said in unison, “Surely Christ was the son of God,” and they shouted it, and then applauded!

On Tuesday night, Ben and Tiatana invited me to go with them to the Tuesday Novena to Our Lady of Perpetual Help, which they had attended together when Ben was going to school in Teresina. It is at the church of St. Joseph the Worker, staffed by Irish Redemptorists, in a very working class section of Teresina and is the church Ben and Tiatana selected for their wedding later that week. The novena is repeated several times throughout the day every Tuesday, yet when we were there in the early evening the church was packed with people filling the pews and overflowing to the large side doors and standing in the back – except for those with their own lawn chairs in tow. Obviously they knew what they needed to do if they wanted to sit down. The faith of the people is tremendous.

Note: people in Brazil go to Communion “Irish Style.” When the priest gets ready to distribute communion, people leave their pews whenever they choose and go up randomly. They do the same in Ireland. This is not just an interesting bit of cultural differences, but is deeply faith-based. When people go row by row, if someone does not go to communion, he/she might feel conspicuous, and thereby pressured into going to communion when they feel they are not adequately prepared. Perhaps a person might go just so they didn’t feel others are staring at them when everyone else goes. Worth thinking about. Next week: the Big Wedding.

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