The

Lisbonian
Magazine

English College Lisbon

January 2010
The Lisbonian
– The magazine of the Lisbonian Society
All correspondence should be addressed to:
The Editor
Kevin Hartley
8 Hanbury Hill
Stourbridge DY8 1BE

The Lisbonian is the bi-annual magazine of the Lisbonian Society, appearing in

January and July, and covers a wide range of topics of current and historical
interest.
The magazine is distributed to all members of the Society and to those who
have expressed an interest in the College. Articles relating in any way to
Lisbon past or present and especially to former students of the College are
always very welcome.
Anyone wishing to submit an article for consideration should in the �rst
instance contact Kevin Hartley as above or by email:
kevinhartley@yahoo.co.uk

Lisbonian Society
Correspondence relating to the Lisbonian Society should be addressed to
Hon Secretary Lisbonian Society
V Rev Canon Gerard Hetherington, KHS
The Presbytery
12 Station Road
Peters�eld GU32 2ED

2 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010

 Contents

Editorial ............................................................. 5
The Lisbonian – Redivivus ................................... 5
Letters to the Editor ........................................... 9
A Quinta dos Inglesinhos… ................................13
Jersey’s Honorary Lisbonian................................15
Olla Podrida, or Odds and Ends .........................18
The Lisbonian Meeting 2009 .............................19
Re�ections – Anglicanorum Coetibus ...................22
Christos Anesti ek Nekron ..................................23
Corpo Santo – Lisbon ........................................28
The Minho .........................................................33
Where Are They Now? .......................................38
The Organ of the Inglesinhos… .........................39

The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 3

Editorial
Something new!
Having a Word
The publication of this issue marks the
introduction of a new feature. As far
as we know The Lisbonian has never
carried a ‘Letters to the Editor’ section.
Well, it does now – and with a very
interesting crop of correspondence to
mark the debut. If you have ever read
something in the magazine with which
you disagree, or which you endorse
heartily, if ever there is something
you feel should be brought to the
attention of the brethren but you have
held back from contributing a whole
article, here is your chance to put your
view succinctly before the readership.
For those of tender consciences, the
Editor will be happy to withhold the
publication of name and address, if
requested!
A word about the Re�ections column.
This was introduced as an opportunity
for anyone to offer a short (500
words) comment about some aspect
of life, serious or light-hearted (they
have tended to the latter!). They
are published on condition of strict
anonymity so the contributor doesn’t
need to feel constrained (beyond
Kevin Hartley
your editor
welcomes feedback
and articles!
4 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
the usual bounds of propriety) in
what is said. Contributions should be
submitted in writing and the envelope
marked ‘Lisbonian: Re�ections’.
We w e l c o m e p h o t o g r a p h s f o r
reproduction in the magazine. Please
indicate clearly what is the subject
matter of the photographs and
identify, if at all possible, the persons
who appear in them. Space may not
always permit the use of everything
we receive and whether in colour or
in black and white they need to be
pin-sharp, and the bigger the better.
They may be sent in hard copy – every
effort will be taken to take care of them
and return them to their owners – or,
equally acceptably, on e-mail.
For Old Times Sake
We seem to have settled on Leeds as
the venue for the Annual Meeting, at
least for the time being. For those who
have not visited Hinsley Hall it offers
very comfortable accommodation
and, as long as CaTEW continues to
be generous, the only cost to those
attending is that of getting there.
All Lisbonians will surely be pleased that
the future of the Quinta dos Inglesinhos
as a Centre for the Portuguese
Association of Parents and Friends of
Mentally Disabled Citizens (APPACDM)
has being assured as the result of an
agreement reached between CaTEW
and the Câmara of Almada. See the
article in this issue for details.
Stop Press
The journal ‘Catholic Life’ is serialising
the College’s History from January
2010 to December 2010. ‘The Tablet’
is after some articles, as is ‘The Catholic
Herald’. Simon Johnson is now a
director of the Catholic Record Society
(CRS) and, as you would expect, has got
all the Catholic historical societies ready
for the launch of the English edition (a
Portuguese version is already in print)
of the College history.
Francis McNulty passed away peacefully
on 22 November 2009 at St Raphael’s
Hospice in Cheam. His daughter Roz
The Lisbonian – Redivivus
The Editor
The College had long since closed its
doors and the buildings in the Bairro
Alto were slowly falling to pieces, Luz
Carnide had been sold and was being
buried under development and the
Quinta de Pera had been given over to
APPACDM. There were still ninety or
so members of the Lisbonian Society
alive and some thirty or thereabouts
attending the annual meeting. A villa
in the Algarve town of Alvor had been
put at the disposal of the Lisbonians
under terms cloaked in an obfuscation
of hierarchical smoke and mirrors.
The Visitors’ Book had one indignant
entry denouncing the unavailability
of some facility – perhaps the use
of the garage – written by someone
under the impression that the building
belonged to the Society ‘we are
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 5
McNulty-Bakas writes: ‘He was eighty-
one and had lived a happy life despite
a long illness. His four children (and
seven grandchildren) have heard so
many wonderful stories from the years
spent at The English College and we will
treasure his copies of The Lisbonian.’
I Liked these – PJH
‘gastrinome’ – a �atulent dwarf;
‘macaroon’ – to leave a Scotsman
on a remote island! - BBC Radio 4
Sorry I haven’t a clue
owners, not guests’ he penned. O
sancta simplicitas! Whatever gave
Gerry Collins the notion that we
owned anything? All the same, Jim
Sullivan added his own comment:
‘Something new has been born’
speaking of the Alvor villa. Where
now, I wonder, is that Visitors’ Book?
It was against this background
that, over ten years ago, the first
nebulous idea of reviving T he
Lisbonian magazine was floated.
A mock-up, consisting of reprints
from old magazines, was produced
and circulated to the brethren. The
scheme met with approval.
As people were press-ganged into
writing articles, the burden of previous
editors became freshly appreciated:
‘hats off’ to the former editors, those

As people were press-ganged into
writing articles, the burden of
previous editors became freshly
appreciated…
people who spent hours trawling
around the College corridors, button-
holing people in the common room,
pinning people down as they walked
round Sintra or wandered around
the more obscure corners of the
city.
Features and Contents
Looking back at those issues one
cannot fail to be impressed by the
quality of writing and the breadth
of interest demonstrated by the
contributors: In the December
issue of 1925 John Cullen penned a
detailed history of the Constitutions
of the College. A fulsome obituary
of Salazar featured in December
1970, complementing an even more
adulatory article on the Estado Novo in
June 1938. The story of the beginning
of the railway in Portugal featured in
December 1936. A comprehensive
survey of the then new churches of
Lisbon appeared in 1959, and a very
detailed biographical article about
‘Hats off’ to the former editors,
those people who spent hours
trawling around the College
corridors, button-holing people in
the common room…
6 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
Bishop Brindle in October 1962.
Some articles were whimsical. In June
1932, one J M contributed an article
about the Scouting movement that
was brie�y enjoying a vogue in the
College, entitled ‘Not too much Wind
on the Heath, Brother’, complete
with Latin quotations and a rather
arch delivery. In the same issue J M
with equally elevated style, and casual
racism writes , ‘he is not a negro and
neither has he a hooked nose and
so will not be fobbed off with these
newfangled escudos’ about ‘The New
Coinage’. Interesting to note that
in July of that year, a month after
the publication of this article, Adolf
Hitler’s Nazi Party became the largest
political party in the Reichstag after
years spent demonising the Jewish
population of Germany.
Living up to the pedigree of the old
Lisbonian would not be an easy task.
With no physical College to be the
locus of material there was a danger
that the revived version would be no
more than a nostalgic harking back
to former glories.
The Lisbonian Today
To some extent this has proved
inevitably true: contributions are
agreeably catholic but there are
times when one could wish for an
incisive comment on current matters
or an occasion theological insight
to challenge our aging brains. And
it has to be said that Lisbonians are
no more anxious to write these days
than they were in former times! Such
modesty!
Technical Production
There were other, more technical,
problems. Early twentieth century
productions of the magazine had
been produced by the Tipográ�a
Inglesa, and in later years by the
Empresa Tipográ�ca Casa Portuguesa
Successores. It didn’t seem possible
to have the new version printed
professionally and so the style of
production was, to say the least,
primitive. Articles were typed up,
printed off and cut and pasted
onto sheets of A3, run double-sided
through a Gestetner-type machine
in the parish of�ce, then folded and
stapled on the dining room table to
produce a magazine in A4. It was
crude and messy but Lisbonians
are on the whole a forgiving lot,
kind comments were passed on
and critical ones, mostly, expressed
sotto voce.
Production dif�culties were eased
to some extent when a decision
was taken to reduce the format of
the magazine to A5 but still the
techniques employed were of the
Heath Robinson variety. A noticeable
step forward was made when it was
realised that Prontaprint™ would
take the photocopied galley proofs,
print them off and staple them for a
reasonable price. Gone at last were
the gyrations around the table!
The �nal production was still very
amateurish.
Then along came a sort of salvation:
Peter Harrison – incautiously –
mentioned his involvement in
magazine production. It was an
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 7
There are times when one could
wish for an incisive comment on
current matters or an occasion
theological insight to challenge
our aging brains…
Auntie Wainwright moment: the
Editor pounced on the hapless victim.
(Readers who are not addicts of the
TV series ‘Last of the Summer Wine’
must imagine a Yorkshire lady of iron
will, adamantly determined not to let
anyone leave her antique and bric-
a-brac shop without purchasing at
least one unwanted item). The highly
professional result is literally in your
hands as you read this page.
Production Costs
In the old days some income at least
must have come from advertising,
The names alone provide a kind
of mirror to contemporary society.
Ormsby of Scarisbrick were pro�ting
in the 1960s from the new liturgical
trends, and in Portugal a new name
re�ected the growing popularity of
the Algarve as Penina Golf Course and
Hotel advertised their wares. Hayes
and Finch™ were staunch supporters
of the magazine to the very end.
It was crude and messy but
Lisbonians are on the whole a
forgiving lot, kind comments
were passed on and critical ones,
mostly, expressed sotto voce…

It was an Auntie Wainwright
moment: the Editor pounced on
the hapless victim…
For many years Hyde & Sons – sole
Agents in Great Britain for Gonzales
Byass Sherry Altar Wine – entertained
readers with a page of the firm’s
historic association with Liverpool.
Before WWII the �rm of Messrs J G
Ford & Son of London were offering
something they called English College
Lisbon Altar Wine (intriguing thought
– was this the product of the Quinta’s
vineyard?).
More Famous Names
In later years Feeny & Matheson
of Liverpool, importers, bonders
and bottles of high class wines and
proprietors of the papal altar wines
were favouring the magazine with
© PJH 2009 – English College Wine
8 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
their adverts. Maurice Vanpoulle of
Cathedral Mansions, Vauxhall Bridge
Road, London (Mr Appleton, the
managing partner, for seven years
student at the ENGLISH COLLEGE
LISBON), would kit you out with
anything from damask vestments
to missal-stands, while Connolly,
Gladwin & Co, again of Liverpool,
could clothe you from biretta to
confessional cloak, and throw in a
Booth Line – SS Hildebrand 1950s
cruci�x or two as well. The Booth
Line (did the SS Hildebrand sink
their business?) would ferry you to
Lisbon en route up the Amazon to
Manãos. It is unlikely that George
Hartley & Sons, Printers Engineers,
of 43 Temple Street Manchester, ever
succeeded in selling a reconditioned
Heidelberg platen machine to any
Inglesinho. There were Portuguese
advertisers, too, of which Pinto
Basto must surely have been the
most prestigious. João Pedro offered
o melhor sortido de viveres as well as
licores estrangeiros, while in later years
Fotocolor Lda was happy to process
all your photographs
The Lisbonian – Today
With the new Lisbonian having
a run of a hundred, an appeal for
advertising seemed an unlikely The Lisbonian marches… issue
starter. It was agreed that the cost of to issue – if not till the last syllable
production and distribution would
be met from the membership
of recorded time, at least as long
subscriptions, although there as the last Lisbonian has energy
were some misgiving about that to put pen to paper…
because, as it was pointed out,
quite a few of the ‘brethren’
conveniently forgot to pay their more appropriate word, from issue
subscriptions. Only lately has to issue – if not till the last syllable
substantial help been provided by of recorded time, at least as long
a generous donation by CaTEW as the last Lisbonian has energy to
from the Lisbon Fund – enabling put pen to paper.
the first-ever colour edition of
the magazine. So The Lisbonian
marches, staggers might be the

Letters to the Editor

A new departure for The Lisbonian. Letters relating to articles that have appeared
in a previous issue or which draw the readers’ attention to items of interest are
very welcome.
Charlie Holmes Charlie got me to of�cially open
Dear Editor, a new Parish Room, second for a
Civic Requiem Mass. Charlie was
I found the Obituary on my old the same, loveable boy I’d known
School friend Charlie Holmes (we at School
attended St Austin’s in Wake�eld),
most interesting. Our paths took I could relate a hundred stories of
different courses, he to Lisbon, I into Uncle Charlie, for he really loved his
engineering and politics. sister Mary’s children, but let one
suf�ce. The Easter Heath Common
When I was elected Mayor of Fair is one of the highlights of
Wakefield for the Millennium, the year in Wake�eld and on one
Cardinal Hume wrote reminding occasion Uncle Charlie, having put
me of the great signi�cance of the his nephews on the Bouncy Castle,
year and I resolved to visit services was standing quietly, with their
of all denominations every week. coats over his arm, when a stranger
At end of year, I found the score walked up, paid for her child and
was 98, Anglican, Baptist, Catholic, draped its coat over Charlie’s arm.
Methodist, etc. Included were two Ten minutes later, the lady collected
visits to Glass Houghton, �rst when
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 9
 her child, then the coat, and pressed
a ten-penny coin into Charlie’s
hand. A tale he loved and told many
times.
Norman J Hazell MBE
Sandal, Wakefield
Taking His Name In Vain
Pray tell, who was it changed my
name from John Rayner to John
Raynor? I hate my name to be mis-
spelled. I usually refer folk who do
that to the Telephone Directory
here, which lists 123 Rayners versus
32 Raynors.
As regards Charlie Holmes. I knew
him before either of us went to
Primary School. We were always
great friends and shared a great deal
of time together.
The comment was made that
Charlie’s hand was always hovering
around his fags. When we were
both in our early teens we took
to smoking cinnamon sticks. We
bought them from a Chemist called
Judd. It used to cost us a ha’penny a
stick. One �ne Summer evening we
were both sitting outside at the back
of his house and smoking cinnamon.
His mother called out ‘Charles (she
hated him being called Charlie),
what are you doing?’ He replied
We were … smoking cinnamon.
His mother called out ‘Charles
what are you doing?’ He replied
‘Taking in the night air, mother.’
She replied ‘Yes, I can smell it.’…
10 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
‘Taking in the night air, mother.’ She
replied ‘Yes, I can smell it.’
I enjoyed reading Fred Robinson’s
account of the organ but I cannot
recall that the bottom octave of
the Swell was simply coupled to
the bottom octave of the Great. I
do remember that the stops on the
Swell were all replicas of stops on the
Great. I remarked on this to Dr Muller
and he immediately pulled out the
same stop on both the Great and the
Swell and played the same note on
each, one after the other. The sound
was the same but it was clearly two
different pipes which were being
blown. The swell was certainly
primitive because it was simply a
lever which one pushed down with
one’s right foot and then engaged
in a notch which then closed the
louvres covering the Swell pipes. This
meant that the Swell was either fully
open or fully closed. There was no
gradual in-between.
I don’t know when I will next make it
to a Lisbonian meeting. I’m getting
older and my knees are giving
me a bit of trouble with arthritis. I
have been stripped of several of my
powers as a JP. I can no longer sit on
the Bench and I cannot issue Search
Warrants nor can I admit anyone as a
Surety. This is because we all become
senile at the age of 75. The local
Police told me that they regretted
this because I was the most available
JP in their neighbourhood.
John Rayner
raynerja@gmail.com
[Editor – apologies for the error]
John Hawkins
John and I were students together
at the English College 1962-1968.
We were Ordained Deacons in the
College Chapel on 10 December
1967 by the Papal Nuncio. It was a
wonderful experience that was for
us all something special as we were
so close to becoming Priests. The six
years that we spent at the College
were quite extraordinary, �lled with
inspiration, hope, joy, peace and
courage inspired by the Holy Spirit,
and there was that tremendous
fellowship and brotherly bond with
our fellow students. We all aspired
to follow Jesus and become his
friends and priests. Those years and
experiences are deeply etched in
my soul and heart and I thank God
for them.
When we were ordained Deacons
we went down into Rossio in the
centre of Lisbon city, for what reason
I do not remember, but on the way
back we were met by a Portuguese
student who wanted to practise
his English and he stopped us and
asked who we were. I said to him
‘We are deacons who are studying
at the Colegio dos Inglesinhos in the
Bairro Alto’. He paused and looked
at us earnestly and said ‘Deacons?
The only deacons I know is Charles
Dickens.’ As you can imagine, John
and I were extremely amused and
chuckled all the way back to the
College.
Tony Sheehan
tasheehans@gmail.com
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 11
The six years that we spent at
the College were… filled with
inspiration, hope, joy, peace
and courage inspired by the
Holy Spirit, and there was that
tremendous fellowship and
brotherly bond with our fellow
students…
Flight 777 and other Disasters
I pen a minor correction to Kevin
Hartley’s article on the shooting
down of the aeroplane carrying
Leslie Howard. He mentions that
another plane, carrying General
Sikorski, was shot off Gibraltar. But
this plane crashed on take-off from
Gibraltar, General Sikorski was killed,
as was his daughter. But the pilot, a
Czech, survived unscathed. At the
time, and since, Polish exiles have
been convinced that the father and
daughter were killed deliberately.
Years later, circa 1981, I was an
Army Padre in Cyprus. I was asked
by an elderly Polish lady to take
Holy Communion to her husband,
housebound in a flat. Although

The old Quinta was rebuilt
and now houses dormitories
providing accommodation for
young people whose families are
unable to care for them for any
reason…
my �ock was military, soldiers and
their families, I made an exception.
The lady was the second wife of
General Sikorski’s son-in-law. After
prayers, I was asked what I thought
about General Jaruzelski’s request
that the body of General Sikorski
be transferred to a site in Poland.
The son-in-law held the decision
as next-of-kin. My reply was that
such a transfer would be a coup
for Poland’s last communist leader.
I was only con�rming the son-in-
law’s opinion. I believe that the
transfer from the Polish Cemetery in
Newark only took place later, when
General Jaruzelski and Communism
had gone
Bernard Funnell
Pontefract

Opinions and views expressed in The Lisbonian are deemed to be those

of the contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Editors
or the Lisbonian Society.

© Illustration from original pencil drawings – by William Haeburn-Little – Quinta de Pêra

12 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010

A Quinta dos Inglesinhos
Then And Now
It was in 1962 that the late
Sheila Stilwell and her friend Dr
Alice de Mello Tavares founded
what was to become known as
A Associaçäo Portuguesa de Pais
e Amigos do Cidadäo Defieciente
Me nt al(APPACDM) that now
numbers 27 centres throughout
Portugal, catering for over 5,000
persons.
In 1975, after the closure of the
College, and through the good
offices of Victor Guazzelli, the
Quinta de Pêra was taken over by
the Association and now, after
considerable renovation and
extension, is home to protected
© 2003 Photographer unknown – Bishop Victor Guazzelli in a Quinta de Pêra workshop
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 13
workshops which provide training
in printing, cerographics, shoe
making, farming (providing
vegetables for 1000 meals a day)
and domestic duties – ironing,
garment making, cooking etc.
Initially, students attended on a
day basis, returning home each
evening but as they became older
[and living longer] the top �oor
of the old Quinta was rebuilt and
now houses dormitories providing
accommodation for young people
whose families are unable to care
for them for any reason. The rest
of the Quinta has been similarly
updated and Inglesinhos would

We should all be able to rejoice
that our decrepit but beloved
old Quinta has taken on such a
wonderful new lease of life…
have a hard time recognising the
splendidly equipped kitchens and
the delightful restaurant that has
been created.
The considerable costs of
rebuilding, �tting out of workshops
and maintenance have been met
partly by donations and partly by
government grants. Despite the
current disastrous world economic
situation the organisation has been
able to survive. The heaviest costs
are for the training of staff who
have to be properly quali�ed for
an institution of this nature.
Whatever our thoughts about
the closure of the College, the
subsequent sale of the buildings
and its extraordinary conversion
into luxury apartments affordable
to only the wealthiest, we should
all be able to rejoice that our
decrepit but beloved old Quinta
has taken on such a wonderful
new lease of life and that the
memory of Nicholson’s legacy is
preserved in the name A Quinta
dos Inglesinhos.
[Ed – Thanks are due to John Stilwell
who kindly provided material for
this article]
Postscript:
David Magalhães has kindly supplied
an article from an Almada newspaper
14 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
which brings the story of the Quinta
up to date:
‘The Municipality of Almada is
going to grant permanent use of
the Quinta dos Inglesinhos and its
associated agricultural land to
the Portuguese Association of the
Parents and Friends of Mentally
Handicapped Citizens (APPACDM).
This is the result of a protocol
arrived at between the Municipality
and the College of SS Peter and
Paul, belonging to the Catholic
Bishops’ Conference of England
and Wales (CaTEW), the owner of
the Quinta which for several years
has been used by the Association in
its work with mentally handicapped
children, young people and adults.
The signing of the protocol,
entailing a division of the property
(allowing the College to apply for
planning permission in respect
of the retained land – Ed) has
thus assured the Association the
continuation of their important
work. The agreement was signed
the 9 September 2009 between
the Municipality and Mgr Andrew
Summersgill, Secretary General of
the Catholic Bishops Conference,
on behalf of the College of SS Peter
and Paul.’
Letters
The Lisbonian welcomes your e-
mails and letters. Correspondence
should be addressed to the Editor
at the address on page 2.
Jersey’s Honorary Lisbonian
by Nick France
Lisbon once seemed a remote city
until I came to Jersey. I knew it best
from tales I’d heard from Bishop
Guazzelli and Gerry Hetherington.
I now feel almost a Lisbonian
myself, or, at least, I call myself
the Portuguese priest in Jersey,
who doesn’t speak Portuguese!
How come? Well, it all began last
century in September 1999.
A funny thing happened to me
on the way to the Millennium.
I got transferred to Jersey. I was
asked by my Bishop to base myself
in the Island’s only town, St
Helier, and unite the Anglo-Irish
Church of St Mary & St Peter
with the French St Thomas’,
which had two hundred years of
separate traditions as parishes. The
former was served by the diocesan
clergy and St Thomas’ by French
Oblates of Mary Immaculate. This
uni�cation was reasonably easy
to achieve. However, there was a
third element not mentioned in
my job spec!
Madeirans A Plenty
Before my move I had little idea
that there were over ten thousand
Portuguese, mostly Madeirans, in
Jersey. I then heard that they were
being looked after by an Irish priest
who had learnt his Portuguese in
Brazil. It was also suspected that
he wanted a move as he didn’t
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 15
approve of the regime change
the Bishop had proposed. Within
days of my arrival he disappeared
to Australia, leaving me with
a large Portuguese community
to care for. I already had four
Masses at the weekend, yet I
had to add a 3.30pm Portuguese
Mass to my Sunday duties. I am
useless at languages, but learnt
phonetically to say some of the
Mass with an interpreter for the
homily. I thought it was going
to be a temporary move until
I found a Portuguese speaking
priest. Nearly ten years later, apart
from a few failed attempts to get
someone here, I still celebrate Mass
each Sunday and also of�ciate at
baptisms and funerals, entirely in
Portuguese, excepting the homily
as I am still not conversant in the
language.
The whole experience has been
both novel and challenging.
Huge numbers require the Rites
of Passage but Sunday practice
is low. Madeirans are often ill-
educated. Traditionally they have
undertaken the more menial work
on the farms or in hotels and
I thought it was going to be a
temporary move until I found a
Portuguese speaking priest…

Traditionally they have
undertaken the more menial
work on the farms or in hotels
and shops. I have tried to stick up
for their human rights…
shops. I have tried to stick up for
their human rights, especially in
their living conditions,
Bishops’ Department for
Migrants
A ver y small percentage of
Jersey Portuguese come from
the mainland. However I have
established good contacts with the
Portuguese Bishops’ Department
for Migrants in Lisbon. It has
given me reason to visit that
2008 – Travessa dos Inglesinhos – Lisbon
16 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
city often in recent years. The
Migrants’ Department was until
recently in the old Patriacado
before more recently moving up
to the Moscavide region of the
city. Yearly I have pleaded for a
priest, but with little success. The
Portuguese Bishops are, like English
Bishops, in being very short of
clergy and are unable to release
anyone suitable. The Bishop to
the Forces, Don Januario Ferreira,
(formerly Bishop of Migrants) has
become a good friend of ours and
comes yearly to Jersey to con�rm
over 80 adults and young people.
In Honour of Mary
Our May and October Festas in
honour of Our Lady of Fatima
draw extra numbers. For ten years
Father Bernardino Trindade, a
Sacred Heart Father currently a
Parish Priest in Madeira, has come
to celebrate the Festa with me. He
would love to come and stay more
permanently but his superiors
understandably require him to live
in a community. Currently we are
negotiating with a new Brazilian
community to see if they would
like to open a house in Jersey.
Welcome Centre
I have a Portuguese Pastoral Council
and one of our �rst projects was
to convert a former school into
a Welcome Centre for Migrants,
mostly Portuguese, where we have
meeting rooms, an Art Gallery (to
bridge languages), a repository and
a café which serves light meals
and the best coffee in Jersey. We
also have rooms used for teaching
English to Portuguese, Polish
and other migrants. This is run
in partnership with Highlands
College of Further Education.
I’m glad to relate that over three
thousand people have undertaken
these English courses, empowering
them to seek good employment,
for their betterment and the good
of the Island.
In our recent reordering of St
Thomas’ Church I have created
a Chapel of Our Lady of Fatima
with traditional Portuguese tiles,
including hand painted ones
2009 – Chapel of Our Lady of Fatima – Saint Thomas’ Church Jersey Channel Islands
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 17
depicting the 1917 apparition. I
had chosen and ordered these on
a visit to Lisbon. They come from
the famous Viúva Lamego factory.
I was helped in all that and in all
the registration work I have to do
for Portuguese parishioners, by
my housekeeper, Manuela, who
arrived in Jersey about the same
time as me. She is from Macão and
knows Lisbon well.
My ambition on my next visit to
Lisbon is to discover the Travessa
dos Inglesinhos and trace the
footsteps taken over hundreds
of years by English students like
those I have known among my
brother priests in the Portsmouth
Diocese. The story of the English
College in Portugal is a long and
notable chapter in the history of
the English Catholic Church. I am
glad to think of myself as someone
who is continuing that link, though
in a very different way.
Gerry Hetherington adds,
‘Mgr Raymond Lawrence – my
predecessor in Guernsey established
good contacts with the Portuguese.
He visited Madeira at least once and
the Bishop of Funchal also visited
the Island. When I arrived there
I got wind of some problem so I
invited Peter Stilwell, who was then
in London to come over which he
kindly did. The Bishop said Mass,
heard confessions and met some of
the Portuguese. From then on I said
a Mass in Portuguese for them once
Olla Podrida or Odds and Ends
Where did this end up?
In 1985 a silver ewer 22cms in
height and engraved with the
Coutinho arms, originating from
the English College, was sold in
auction at Sotheby’s London for a
hammer price of £46,750. Neither
the name of the seller nor of the
buyer is recorded. Is someone out
there with a fancy piece of silver
on the sideboard?
Fancy staying at the College
again?
For €200.00 a night you could
rent an apartment overlooking the
18 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
a month, Bishop Victor celebrated
Mass in Portuguese for us twice
if not three times. We also had
annual processions to mark the 13
of May and October. In all this I was
aided by a Portuguese Hospitaler
Sister, then resident at Le Platon
Home. She also eventually built up
a Saturday Chaplain from London
over a couple of times and the
President of the Camera of Funchal.
I attended the Dinner held for him
on one occasion. They appreciated
what we tried to do for them and
we had many of the children in the
schools. As far as I know the Mass
etc has continued.’
[Ed – It would be interesting to
know how many others of the
brethren have been able to help
Portuguese incomers in similar
ways.]
garden. The minimum stay is for
three nights but there are special
rates available for stays of more
than a month. Go to ‘Portugal
Exclusive Homes’ on the Internet
and have a look! Sadly there seems
to be no possibility for alumni to
rent their old rooms!
Contributions to Ref lections are
invited, on condition of strict
anonymity, from any member of the
Society. The subject is entirely at the
choice of the contributor and should
be of approximately 500 words in
length. Ed
The Lisbonian Meeting 2009
Hinsley Hall, Leeds 7th & 8th July 2009
A browse through old copies of
The Lisbonian revealed that it was
on these very dates �fty years ago
that the eighty-second Meeting
of the Lisbonian Society was held
at Blundellsands, coram episcopo
Jack Murphy. The Quinta Day
was celebrated at the spacious and
gracious Igreja de Santo Edmundo
a Aqualoo, the banquet being
provided by the one-and-only Bob
Harvey, commencing with sopa
de Rabo de Boi and ending with
café talvez quente e mais nada. Fifty
three brethren were present on
that occasion.
The one hundred and thirty-third
meeting of the Lisbonian Society
was convened in Hinsley Hall in
Leeds. Hinsley Hall is a far cry from
Blundellsands, its architecture
hauntingly reminiscent of a
Rajah’s palace (understandable
when one recalls that the building
originally served as a training
college for Methodist missionaries
preparing to go to India). But
the en suite accommodation
is decidedly modern and the
welcome reassuringly Yorkshire.
We gathered, we few, we band
of brothers, nineteen in all, to
ramble anecdotally through the
vineyards of the Quinta de Pêra and
along the Military Road, taking
the ferry across to Caçilhas or the
coast road to Boca do Inferno, with
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 19
many a digression to recall the
eccentricities of Joe Whatsisface
and Barry Doohdah, while the
Council met in solemn session.
At least, one has to assume that
the session was solemn since its
deliberations are under seal.
In a previous issue our esteemed
Editor made erudite reference to
the philosopher Heraclites and
something about falling, or not
falling, into the same river twice,
but with deadly inevitability,
the subject of the Alvor Villa and
the proceeds of its sale instantly
became the main topic at the
general meeting, under the genial
direction of our President, Paul
Devaney. Those priest members
of the Society who are in good
standing (terms which themselves
called for a certain amount of
deconstruction) modestly revealed
that they had been invited to apply
for a ‘holiday grant’ and even
more modestly, for the most part,
refrained from revealing whether
they had benefited from the
offer. Some animated discussion
ensued, mostly on the lines of the
non-canonical stance adopted by
the Trustees (bene�ts should be
interpreted as largely as possible,
while penalties as strictly as
possible), and on the continuing,
not to say obdurate, insistence
that the Trustees are restricted

We soon routed them with a
spirited rendition of O Roma Felix.
After the entrée, roast rack of
lamb, and desert had been duly
demolished…
by various and spurious appeals
to precedent and the principles
governing other allocations.
Belatedly, it was recognised that
the Society is also grateful for the
generosity of the Trustees in not
only funding the annual Meeting
but also in allocating monies to
the good causes identi�ed by the
Society. The web of benevolence
was ever thus entangled.
The principle of equity was also
pursued when it was revealed
that the Secretary has not been
taking his expenses from the
annual membership account, for
which dereliction he was roundly
castigated and the (absent) Treasurer
exhorted to ‘put things right’.
The condition of the College
grave-site at Prazeres Cemetery
was also mentioned: one member
recorded that he had recently
visited the place and had found
it dilapidated. Mgr John Cullen is
buried there, along with students.
All Together Now!
O Roma Felix, quae duorum Principium
Es consecrata gloriouso sanguine!
Horum cruore purpurata ceteras Excellis
orbis una pulchritudines.
20 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
Alumni might re�ect on whether
�lial duty obliges the Society to
attend to this matter.
The AGM staggered to a sort of
conclusion as members realised
that the convivial hour had
been encroached upon, and we
proceeded in ragged order in search
of spiritual comfort.
Our numbers being reduced and
Hinsley Hall catering for other
groups beyond our own, we
were obliged to share our dining
arrangements with a serious seminar
assembly, but we soon routed them
with a spirited rendition of O Roma
Felix. After the entrée, roast rack
of lamb, and desert had been duly
demolished the brethren settled
back, alas portless on this occasion
[NB Serious need to rectify such
a lacuna next year], to attend
to words of wisdom from Tom
Keane, the proposer of the toast
to Alma Mater. Words we heard
– and wisdom? Certainly we were
exhorted to think of institutions
and customs various. Black Rod and
haggis were invoked, and we were
reminded that customs sometimes
have strange beginnings, which
led, by a process probably clear
to the speaker, to Quinta Night
and Pantomime. There was a live
Sit Trinitati sempiterna gloria, Honor,
potestas atque jubilatio,
In unitatae, quae gubernat omnia, Per
universa saeculorum saecula. Amen
turkey somewhere in the story, We made do with good sober
and singing, or not singing, and modest fare before, one by one,
a sad story of being consigned to we folded our tents and made our
turn pages in the organ loft; until, farewells, until next year.
o’er many a hill and through [Reader: we missed you! Mark the
many a vale, finally, Una voce 6 July 2010 in your diary now and
concinamus, ‘Live for Ever Alma come to join the gang at Hinsley
Mater’ resounded through what Hall!]
had once been the blameless
Methodist students’ hallowed Apology
hall. Due to a technical error beyond
The chapel at Hinsley Hall is at my personal control the group
photographs taken a last year’s
once beautiful and intimate, a true
meeting cannot be produced. My
domus ecclesiae. Red stoles and white apologies if you are disappointed!
albs transformed the brethren and PJH.
Paul Devaney’s re�ections on Saint
Paul helped us feel as though we
had some small share at least in the Contributors
spirit of his great adventure. Are always welcome to the
Quinta Day ain’t wot it used to Lisbonian magazine. Send your
be, and that’s a fact. Gone are story, article and pictures to the
the leisurely succession of exotic
dishes, extravagant talk (speeches
were always taboo on Quinta
Day, which never stopped people
making them), and the quaf�ng
of strange vintages. Perhaps our
digestions are the better for it, but
oh, those far-off days in Agualoo,
and that astonishing garden party
presented by the late-lamented
George Tancred in Twickenham
(did the Society ever pick up the
bill?). Only Smokey Funnell, in
recent years, has been able to offer
anything to rival the feasts of olden
times: game soup full of pheasant,
and a Cheshire cheese that the
loyal Yorkshire man must have
smuggled in under night’s dark
cover. Saudades! © 2009 – Tony Hogarth – Hinlsey Hall

The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 21

 Reflections
Anglicanorum Coetibus
I don’t know what to make of
the news that the Pope, more
or less of his own initiative it
seems, is preparing to welcome
Anglo-Catholics into some sort of
distinctive Rite. We have several
former Anglican priests working in
my diocese, as hospital chaplains
and in some cases as ‘priests-
in-charge’ of parishes. I have
one such, a part-time assistant,
a married man with a couple of
young lads who are proud to serve
Dad at the altar. He and his family
didn’t make the decision to leave
the Church of England because of
woman priests – he is bold enough
to say he doesn’t have a problem
with a woman priest because didn’t
the apostle Paul say that in Christ
there is no more male or female,
Greek or Jew, free man or slave,
and he doesn’t buy into the idea
that because Jesus was a man it
has to be a man that consecrates
the bread and wine. No, Bert (that
isn’t his real name, by the way,
and I’m not going to tell you what
diocese we both work for!), joined
because he felt that the dear old
Didn’t the apostle Paul say that
in Christ there is no more male or
female, Greek or Jew, free man or
slave…
22 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
C of E had rather lost its way and
he was looking for the certainty
that the Church of Rome seemed
to offer. Bert is a pragmatic sort of
priest, middle of the road, who has
slipped seamlessly into the way
our diocese operates. But in the
course of my ecumenical activities
I’ve come across some ‘Anglos’
who are more Catholic than the
Pope, revelling in Ponti�cal High
Masses, eastward facing position,
with Deacons and Sub-deacons (I
haven’t had the nerve to remind
them that we don’t have Sub-
deacons any more) in lacy albs
and the celebrants in �ddle-back
chasubles, and more genu�ections
and signs of the cross than I ever
remember in the good old pre-
Vatican II days. If these are the
kind of people we are supposed to
be welcoming into Communion, I
think I’d rather be excused.
If they do come, are they going to
be running parallel services to us
in one of their own churches or
are they going to want to use our
buildings? Perhaps they wouldn’t
go that far. As one of them said to
me, ‘we would hate to give up our
lovely old church and have to go
and worship in a dreadful sixties
brick box’.
The move to set up some sort of
‘Uniate Anglican Rite’ – if that is
really what will be involved, also
seems to me like a real slap in the
face for the Church of England.
We may have our difficulties
over ordaining women but the
coming closer together that I’ve
experienced in my years as a priest
has been little short of miraculous
and I wouldn’t want to have that
jeopardised.
Name and Address supplied
[Ed – Contributions to this column,
of about 500 words length and
contributed under terms of strict
anonymity, are welcomed from any
Christos Anesti ek Nekron
by Francis McNulty
[as recorded by his daughter Roz McNultyBakas]
With these words ‘Christ is Risen
from the Dead’ the Greek Orthodox
priest proclaims, at around
midnight on Holy Saturday, the
end of the Lenten season and the
beginning of the great feast of the
Anastasi, the Resurrection.
A Rare Coincidence
It was one of those rare occasions
when the Greek Orthodox and
the Western Latin celebrations of
Easter coincided. Our daughter
and her Greek husband, Simos,
had come to live in England and
we decided to travel out to Thiva to
celebrate together with his family.
Arriving on Holy Thursday, our in-
laws were still practising strict self-
denial, as they had done all Lent,
avoiding meat, �sh, olive oil and
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 23
The move to set up some sort of
‘Uniate Anglican Rite’ – if that is
really what will be involved, also
seems to me like a real slap in the
face for the Church of England…
reader. Opinions expressed do not
necessarily re�ect the views of the
editor or the policy of the magazine.]
cheese. Shell-�sh were permitted
but my recollection is that thin
herb soups featured prominently
in our in-laws’ diet.
The Duties of a Cantor
Simos’s father was a cantor in his
local church, obliging him to be
present throughout the lengthy
liturgies. The cantors, assisted by
one or two others providing a kind
of drone accompaniment, were
positioned to right and left just
outside the Iconostasis separating
the sanctuary from the rest of
the church. Their function was to
chant readings in various versions
of Byzantine Greek, some of it of
great age, set to music, the symbols
for which de�ed reading by any
but the most expert. Through the
open door of the screen could be
seen the Priest and his acolytes,
incensing the altar and performing
their own rituals. Eventually
the priest would appear in the
doorway to chant the Gospel
reading
The congregation stayed for just
as long as it suited them, entering
to make an offering and receive a
lighted candle which they placed
in a small dish of sand close to the
screen. Men stood on one side,
women on the other; and there
were seats around the walls for
the use of those who felt the need
of them.
The day following our arrival
was Good Friday, the feast of
© 2007 Peter J Harrison – Iconostasis Russian
Orthodox Church
24 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
the Epitaphios – the tomb. In
this liturgy the �gure of Christ
was taken down from the cross
and placed in the sepulchre,
symbolized by a kind of canopied
bier covered with �ower petals by
the children. It was then carried in
procession around the town and
returned to the Church for the
remaining liturgies.
The Easter Lamb
On Holy Saturday there was some
free time which enabled us to
observe the work of preparing the
lamb for roasting next day. This
task was entrusted to a young
cousin (also named Simos) because
of expertise he had acquired
during his national service. The
�rst task was to hang the lambs
(there were two so that young
Simos could deal with his own
family’s lamb at the same time)
in order to straighten them out.
After this they were fed onto
spits where they were secured by
means of metal screw clamps and
stitching with some kind of �ame
resistant thread. Then they were
generously rubbed with salt and
pepper, wrapped in wet cloths and
set aside.
The Resurrection
In the evening of Holy Saturday
we gathered outside the church, lit
candles and walked in procession,
to arrive back at the church in time
for the priest to make his Easter
announcement. The congregation
exchanged the traditional greeting
Christos Anesti and received the
traditional response Alithos Anesti The traditional greeting Christos
– He is truly Risen or, perhaps, Anesti and… the traditional
Alithos O Kyrios – He is truly the
Lord. They lit candles from that
response Alithos Anesti – He is
held by the priest and then all truly risen…
dispersed homeward shielding
the candle-�ame against currents the spits and someone to oversee
of air in order to bring it still lit the correct positioning of charcoal
into the house, thus ensuring a so that protruding parts did not
good year. Now that the fasting get scorched and well-recessed
period had been declared over, parts got enough heat. June and
the families would sit down to a I took early turns so were free to
post-midnight feast of Magiritsa go visiting friends in the town
soup, preceded by the traditional and outside, where we accepted
custom of cracking red-dyed eggs offers of ouzo and sausage, but
together and proclaiming Christos eventually returned home to do
Anesti. such justice as we could to the
animal it had taken some seven
The Burning Bush hours to cook.
Having asked for an early call The week came to an end and we
I trooped outside with the left for the airport to take us to
others onto the road, where the
significance of the bundles of
brushwood left outside peoples’
houses immediately became
apparent. Wherever one looked,
columns of smoke arose above the
roof tops. We set ablaze our own
pile to make charcoal by damping
down the �re so as to be left in
the end with a glowing mound of
burning coals to be carried on a
metal sheet through the house and
deposited in the Souvla waiting out
in the garden. This grill-pan was
long enough to accommodate the
lambs, leaving a few inches clear
for the spits to rest in notches at
each end.
People power was required to turn The lighting of candles

The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 25


We again had to run the gauntlet
of ‘mass-murderer’ glances as
we made our way through the
aisle, June carrying the baby
and I dragging a screaming
granddaughter…
Cyprus to stay with another cousin.
The plane was full to bursting and
under the arrangements made,
June and I, with the children,
were travelling in booked seats
while Ros and Simos, being airline
staff, were obliged to occupy crew-
seats close to the emergency exits.
The rest of the passengers were
mainly Cypriot children returning
from a cultural visit to mainland
Greece.
It was here that we again had
to run the gauntlet of ‘mass-
murderer’ glances as we made
our way through the aisle, June
carrying the baby and I dragging
a screaming granddaughter, with
hand luggage over the shoulder,
to our seats.
A Rescue, A Rescue
It was here also that rescue came
from a quarter unlikely anywhere
else in the world. A couple of
Simos’s father approached us with
a Meze to accompany our ouzo
consisting of a bowl containing
knuckle-ends of sheep…!
26 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
12-14 year old boys took our
granddaughter off our hands and
kept her amused throughout the
trip until all were called to resume
their seats for landing. And so that
was all right. We took charge once
again.
We arrived without further
incident and were met by the
said cousin to be driven along the
road that crosses the military zone
between Larnaca and Paralimni in
eastern Cyprus, where they lived.
The house is set on a heath, close
to a lake, and a few miles short of
Aghia Nappa.
The house was essentially a single-
storey building with a spacious
sitting room leading onto a wide
balcony. However, as the house
was on a sloping site, there was
a half-basement, which was
designed to be used as a garage but
was in fact being treated as living
accommodation. To one side was a
small kitchen, where the women-
folk were expected to spend much
of their time, opposite in the main
room was a bar any local pub
would be proud of.
Having already done the paschal
lamb bit while in Thiva we were
somewhat disconcerted when
cousin Simos’s father approached
us with a Meze to accompany
our ouzo consisting of a bowl
containing knuckle-ends of
s h e e p ! We s o m e h o w f o u n d
words to decline and mercifully
were troubled no more on that
account.
A Sad Division
We all have some knowledge of
the circumstances that led to the
Turkish invasion and division of the
island. It is not always the case that
those we were ourselves �ghting
– the Greek Cypriots – see things
quite as we might have expected.
Our host and hostess took us on a
number of trips that enabled us to
realise this. One such took us along
the plain towards the mountains
where stands a monastery that
gave shelter to a Greek resistance
�ghter Grigori Afksentiou until he
decided to leave the shelter of the
monastery and seek refuge in some
caves in the mountains below. The
story has it that the British �nished
him by directing �ame throwers
into the cave and burning him to
death. Whether it is true or not it
is the case that he is a hero �gure
and there now stands a gigantic
bronze statue of Grigori near the
monastery, clad in full combat
gear, binoculars dangling from
strap, gazing out over the plain
below and towards the heights on
the other side occupied by Turkish
machine-gun outposts.
A closer opportunity came on a
visit to Nicosia where barbed wire
checkpoints marked the position of
the Green Line dividing the city.
We saw also the ghost town of
Famagusta (Ammohostos the Greeks
call it) where nothing moved in
an unearthly stillness. We visited
the shore-line caves where saints
Cosmas and Damian practised
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 27
He then proceeded to challenge, in
his battered Ford, the driver of a
Ferrari or a Maserati… to a race.
There could only be one outcome
of course…
medicine centuries ago.
Formula Minus One
But perhaps our strongest
recollections are of the
overwhelming generosity of
our cousin and his astonishing
recklessness. Having visited the
monastery and forgetting that it
was a bank holiday with restaurants
closed, we arrived at such a venue
and to our delight were admitted
and provided with refreshment
by the proprietors. Our cousin
rewarded them by buying from
their adjacent shop a toy for each
of the children.
The other characteristic left us
both helpless and speechless.
Having stopped at a road junction
to walk back and chide us for
driving too slowly (we were just
within the speed limit), he then
proceeded to challenge, in his
battered Ford, the driver of a
Ferrari or a Maserati, or some such
vehicle to a race. There could only
be one outcome of course, but
the sight of our cousin lurching
forward in a do or die attempt will
remain with us a long time.
 Corpo Santo – Lisbon
Mother House
The ‘mother house’ of our Parish is
the church in the Caís do Sodré area
of Lisbon dedicated to our Lady of
the Rosary and St. Dominic and
usually known as Corpo Santo.
Why Corpo Santo?
Facing Peril on the Sea
Centuries ago, before ever the
Irish Fathers came to Portugal,
there was a small chapel close
to the river shore, just beyond
the Royal Palace in the Terreiro
do Paço, dedicated to St Telmo,
or St Elmo – a Dominican from
the Northern part of Iberia who
eventually became Bishop of Tuy
[Galicia)]. For some reason St Elmo
became the patron of mariners
working in coastal waters whilst at
the same time he is credited with
saving ships from damage when
electrical storms produce a ball of
�re on the mast head. This ball of
�re is known as ‘St Elmo´s Fire’ or
the Corpo Santo. When the Irish
Fathers settled in Lisbon they were
given the property which included
This ball of fire is known as ‘St
Elmo´s Fire’ or the Corpo Santo.
When the Irish Fathers settled
in Lisbon they were given the
property which included the
Chapel of Corpo Santo…
28 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
the Chapel of Corpo Santo – and
the name stayed with us!
During a period which began
in the Sixteenth Century reign
of Henry VIII of England and
continued until the end of the mid-
seventeenth century Protectorate
under Oliver Cromwell, the
Catholic Church suffered terrible
persecution in Ireland. Priests were
not allowed to minister freely to
the people. They were forced to
live and work in hiding and were
often martyred when discovered.
It was virtually impossible to train
new candidates for the priesthood
and the Dominicans, in common
with other Orders and Dioceses,
looked around for safe havens
in Europe where boys might be
educated and ordained. Irish
Dominican priests and students
went to Belgium, France, Spain
and Italy and, in 1600, several
arrived in Portugal where they
were warmly welcomed by various
local Dominican foundations. By
1615 they had identi�ed a piece
of land in Loures where they
were able to set up temporary
accommodation and classrooms.
The new ‘house’ received a Papal
Bull of Foundation in November
of that same year.
Hard Times
The foundation was very poor and
life was hard for both priests and
students, but all that changed in
1629 with the arrival of Father
Dominic O’Daly OP, a man of
dynamic energy who recognised
what needed to be done and knew
how to set about it. In 1634 the
Master of the Order authorised
the building of a college for the
education of exiled Irish students
and appointed Father O’Daly as
Rector. Ten years later, a General
Chapter in Rome classified the
college as a House of Studies
[Studium Generale] for the training
of young men for the priesthood.
After several moves around the
Lisbon area, the little group �nally
obtained a site close to the Tagus
and the foundation stone of the Corpo Santo – Lisbon
Church and College of Corpo Santo
Santo as ‘The Martyrs’ Seminary’.
was laid in 1659, although the
community was only able to move Father Dominic O’Daly also had
in several years later. a hand in the founding of the
Convent of Bom Sucesso in Belém,
The Martyr’s Seminary opened in 1639 to provide a home
Meanwhile the Cromwellian for Irish girls who wished to follow
persecutions in Ireland meant that the religious life. A full history of
more and more young men were Bom Sucesso can be found in ‘A
�eeing here for refuge, a tradition Light Undimmed: The Convent of
which still continues, though Our Lady of Bom Sucesso, Lisbon’
nowadays our parish receives by Honor McCabe OP.
English-speaking refugees �eeing
Earthquake, Fire and Flood
from religious and economic
persecution, not in Ireland nor Down the years, the Irish Fathers
even in Europe, but in other were able to respond to the
continents. The young men generous welcome they received
who trained here in penal times in this country by ministering to
returned to Ireland to suffer for Portuguese parishioners as well
their faith whilst preaching the as to English speakers, especially
gospel and so desperately high was when the terrible earthquake,
the rate of executions that Lisbon tidal wave and �re occurred on
people often referred to Corpo All Saints day 1 November 1755.
The area around Corpo Santo
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 29
was devastated with the church
and college reduced to a heap of
rubble and four of the priests were
killed by falling masonry whilst
ministering to the injured in the
streets.
The Irish Fathers were authorised
to rebuild on a site a little further
from the river, at the foot of the
steep cliff which held the upper
part of the city. No funds were
available in Portugal during that
disastrous period and the Prior,
Father O’Kelly, who had suffered
only slight injuries during the
aftermath of the earthquake,
appealed to Pope Benedict XIV for
help. The Holy Father authorised
him to appeal to all the dioceses
of Spain and also to the newly-
discovered rich territories overseas
and thanks to their donations
and to generous aid from South
Corpo Santo College – Portugal
30 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
America and Ireland itself, the new
college and church were ready for
dedication on 13 October 1770.
Boys were once again trained for
the Irish province and the Fathers
continued their work amongst the
English-speaking and Portuguese
communities.
With the Catholic Emancipation
Act of 1856 it finally became
possible for students for the
priesthood to be educated in
Ireland. A great part of the Lisbon
college building was sold and
most of the money raised was used
to build a new House of Studies
on the outskirts of Dublin. Five
or six Irish priests stayed on in
Lisbon, however, and continued
to minister to English-speaking
residents and to the Portuguese
community.
Mission in Anti-Clerical Times
In 1832 the Irish Fathers had
already had an opportunity to
repay their Portuguese hosts for
the generous welcome given
them, when an anti-clerical
government banished all religious
orders from the country. Thanks
to the protection of the British
Government the Irish Fathers were
able to stay on, ministering to the
people and teaching the children.
With the end of the monarchy
and implantation of the Republic
in 1910, a new wave of anti-
clericalism swept over the country
and again the Irish Fathers were
able to provide spiritual comfort
and support to their Portuguese
friends. An important event which Irish priests stayed on in Lisbon,
took place in this period shows and continued to minister to
how vital was the continued
presence of the Irish Fathers: In
English-speaking residents and to
December 1916, during the papacy the Portuguese community…
of Benedict XV, Dominicans all
over the world celebrated the 700 the connection between the Irish
Hundredth Anniversary of the and English exiles.
date on which the founding of From having been a place of refuge
the Order of Preachers received for Irish men and boys fleeing
papal approval. In Portugal the from persecution at home, Corpo
Dominicans, like other religious Santo had become a refuge for
orders, had been forced by anti- Portuguese Catholics deprived of
clericalism to close their houses religious education in their own
and so it was in Corpo Santo churches and schools. In the 1950’s
Church, that a great triduum of and 1960’s the church became a
celebrations was held from twelfth place of refuge for refugees from
to fourteenth of December 1916. Shanghai and Goa and members
of those two groups are now
The Work of Mission
It was in the first half of the
Twentieth century that Father Paul
O’Sullivan, another outstanding
Dominican, came into his own.
Recognising the great needs of the
people for religious instruction,
and the fact that the local church
was powerless to help, he backed
up the evangelising efforts of
his community by setting up a
printing press in Corpo Santo,
where he published four monthly
magazines and any number of
booklets on religious

Neighbours and Refugees

For many years the students
from the nearby English College
maintained the tradition of
providing the choir on the Feast
Bairo Alto – Lisbon
of St Patrick, thus keeping alive
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 31

There was a population move out
of central Lisbon and along the
coast towards Estoril and Cascais,
abandoning downtown Lisbon to
business and shops…
pillars of the English-speaking
community at Corpo Santo. In
recent years the tradition of refuge
has continued with the arrival
of people from various African
countries and from Asia who, we
hope, �nd a home-from-home in
a church where they are able to
worship God in a tongue common
to all who worship there.
Movements and Change
In the 1970’s there was a population
move out of central Lisbon and
along the coast towards Estoril and
Cascais, abandoning downtown
Lisbon to business and shops.
The English-speaking community
joined this trend and in the 1980’s
the Irish Dominican Fathers took
the dif�cult decision to move the
centre of the Parish out to São Pedro
do Estoril, whilst still keeping a
For many years the students
from the nearby English College
maintained the tradition of
providing the choir on the Feast
of St Patrick, thus keeping alive
the connection between the Irish
and English exiles…
32 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
foothold in Lisbon by maintaining
the English-language Sunday Mass
in Corpo Santo. The move had
evolved gradually, with Masses
initially being held in Carcavelos,
Parede, Estoril or Cascais by priests
who travelled out from Lisbon
for the purpose, but with the
acquisition in 1982 of the building
in São Pedro do Estoril which now
houses St. Mary’s Parish Centre the
move became de�nitive.
Presently we have two weekend
Masses at the Eighteenth century
Church of Nossa Senhora dos
Navegantes in Cascais. St. Mary’s
Parish Centre has one Sunday
morning Mass and is also used
as a base for Prayer Groups,
Marriage Courses and other parish
activities, both pastoral and
social. We owe a debt of heartfelt
gratitude to the Fathers of the
Portuguese Dominican Province
for the tremendous support they
have given us in recent years in
maintaining our Sunday morning
Mass at Corpo Santo, a church
which has once again become a
refuge for emigrant communities,
this time from Asia and Africa.
Contributors
Are always welcome to the
Lisbonian magazine. Send your
story, article and pictures to the
Editor.
The Minho
A Journey to Remember
by Kevin Hartley
Journey Through Time
The last time I travelled through
the Minho was en route to Santiago.
My chief memory is of having
the cheapest lodging in Portugal,
25 escudos all-in at the Casa de
Santa Zita in Vianna do Castelo.
Mind you, that was in 1960, or
thereabouts. It might have been
the time that ‘Smokey’ Funnell
successfully bargained with the
bemused patrão of an up-market
pensão for a reduction from the 50
escudo charge to our more usual
40: we would have one �sh dish
and one meat dish each at our
evening meal.
There is a wealth of interest along
the river Minho. It immediately
becomes evident how much the
Portuguese felt the need to defend
themselves against the threat of
invasion by their larger neighbour.
Every town along the river boasts
a fortaleza, sometimes of massive
and intricate construction. The
fortress town of Valença is a case
in point. The massively intricate
fortifications, inspired by the
French military architect Vauban,
rising above the banks of the Minho
bear witness to that fear of assault.
Ironically, the feared invaders have
now peacefully taken over the
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 33
town in search of cheap towels,
bed linen, baby clothes and knick-
knacks of all and sundry nature.
Crossing Borders and Rivers
It was fun to whiz across the
river over one of the new bridges
or take the ferry from Caminha
to A Guarda, taking note of the
hour’s difference between the two
countries. There were only dim
memories of passports bearing
Spanish visas – issued free to us
seminarians, from the Consulate
in Lisbon – of machine-pistol
toting Guardia Civil with their
dour expressions under leather
helmets. Now the border has as
much formality as that between
England and Wales. As in Wales
one might see English language
signs overwritten in Welsh, so in
Galiçia it’s not uncommon to see
the patriotic Galego graf�ti artist’s
handiwork.
The best time to visit Valença is
Dim memories of passports
bearing Spanish visas – of
machine-pistol toting Guardia
Civil with their dour expressions
under leather helmets…
in the evening, when the bargain
hunting Spanish have gone home
and one is free to wander the
streets and squares of the old
town, secure behind its massive
forti�cations. The Santa Casa de
Misericordia maintains a large
home for the handicapped grafted
on to an eighteenth century
mansion, and in the large open
square before a small chapel is a
large bronze statue of Sao Teotonio,
the �rst Portuguese saint, native
of Valença, born in 1085, who
became a Canon Regular of St
Augustine and who on his return
from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem
was offered and turned down the
bishopric of Viseu.
Forti�cations Galore!
Looking from the intricate
convolutions of the battlements,
designed not only to pour shot
Valencia – the town
34 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
across the frontier but also to
defend the walls in the event of
a successful navigation of the
river, it was easy to imagine the
message the fortress presented to
any would-be invader.
A chain of forts are strung along the
south bank of the Minho. Further
upriver, Monçao’s main reputation
lies in being the centre of the
vinho verde production though,
apart from the usual forti�cations
there is little of interest in the
town itself, which gave me the
impression of being in need of a
systematic refurbishment. On the
other hand, nearer the coast, Vila
Nova de Cerveira and Caminha have
the sleepy attraction that makes so
many small Portuguese towns so
seductive. In Villa N de Cerveira,
an hour at one of the table outside
any of the cafés in the broad
town square beside the church
is time well spent and if activity
is called for a ramble round the
fortress walls, gazing out across the
quiet waters of the Minho at the
somnolent wooded countryside in
the foreign land across the river, is
an excellent digestive. Sadly, the
Pousada that occupies much of
the interior of the fort is at present
em obras.
Caminha, near the mouth of the
river Minho, is a lovely historic
town that in the eighteenth
century is said to have rivalled
Porto in importance. You wouldn’t
think it today, especially sitting
at a table outside one of the
cafés in the Largo Terreiro, facing
the beautifully appointed Nucleo The invading Roman army in
Arqueológico which offers a very 137 BC got the idea that the river
well presented video of the town’s
history. Large sections of the
Lima was in fact the river ‘Lethe
inevitably elaborate forti�cations of forgetfulness’…
remain in place and a short walk
idea that the River Lima was in fact
down a medieval paved way
the river Lethe of forgetfulness.
brought us to the �fteenth century
Their commander, Decimus Junius
Igreza Matriz, built when the town
Brutus, was obliged to urge his
was at the height of its commercial
horse into the waters, cross the
importance. The doorway on the
river and then challenge his
north side includes a rather explicit
soldiers by name to imitate his
gesture towards the Spaniards on
example. A modern column of
the far side of the river! Nearby
soldiers on the south back, sadly
is a tiny chapel which boasts an
mutilated by the local vandals,
extraordinary statue of St James,
face a mounted Brutus on the far
saddled up and astride an absent
side. The bridge, from which the
horse!
town takes its name, still retains a
Not the First to Come this Way portion of the Roman original on
Abandoning the Minho for a while the north bank.
we went south along the N13
to Viana. The guide books wax
eloquent about Viana but I confess
that my chief impression was of a
large bustling modern town and it
was much more agreeable to travel
inland up to Ponte de Lima. Here
is a lovely little town – provided
you avoid, as we didn’t on our �rst
visit, the annual September noisy
and garish ‘New Fair’. Our second
visit allowed us to roam in peace
around the narrow streets, peeping
through obscure doorways, one
revealed a chic fashion boutique,
another a utilitatian mercearia,
and yet another opening to a well-
patronised pastelaria. The invading
Roman army in 137 BC got the © 2009 picture Kevin Hartley – St James who
seems to have mislaid his horse!

The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 35


Here, in the centuries preceding
the Roman invasion, Iron Age
Celts established a tightly-knit
fortified town, clusters of round
stone houses…
Taking the High Road
Leaving Ponte de Lima, though
determined to return one day, we
rejecting the motorway in favour
of an exhilarating mountain
road that might have been �rst
constructed by Brutus’ army, back
to Valença.
One might choose to cross the
river Minho by the Caminha ferry
or the modern bridge at Vila
Nova de Cerveira but, either way,
a visit to the Citania de Santa
Tegla, perched on the top of a
precipitous hill on the north side
of the Minho estuary, is a must.
Here, in the centuries preceding
the Roman invasion, Iron Age
Vingte Escudos as it was in May 1964
36 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
Celts established a tightly-knit
forti�ed town, clusters of round
stone houses through which wind
narrow alleyways and sophisticated
drainage channels. Excavations
have so far exposed only a fraction
of the site but the hair-raising
road that winds to the summit is
generously provided with pleasant
picnic spaces and spectacular
views, if the weather is �ne, or eerie
atmospherics if the hill is shrouded
in mist which might momentarily
part to offer glimpses of the Minho
far below. In the sixteenth century,
for reasons that remain obscure, at
least to me (she is the patron saint
of Tarragona) the mountain top
became the centre of a cult of St
Thecla, the supposed follower of
St Paul and a small chapel marks
the culmination of a pilgrim route
up the steep slopes.
From A Guarda, the road inland
along the north bank of the Minho
is much quieter and rural than the
southern Portuguese equivalent
and leads to Tui, a small town
facing Valença, its narrow streets
and passageways rising to the
summit of the hill crowned with
the Romanesque cathedral of Santa
Maria.
Santiago de Compostela was an hour
and a half along the (toll) motorway.
The city has grown enormously
since ‘Smokey’ and I watched the
�reworks on the Saint’s feast day.
The cathedral has become a virtual
museum at the centre of a thriving
commercial enterprise, with the
hordes of visitors ignoring the
prominent notices not to use �ash
photography and keep the noise
down, both of which injunctions
are cheerfully ignored. In the
gigantic square �ocks of pilgrims
in various stages of collapse make
themselves as comfortable as they
might and those who eschew the
pilgrim route can be kitted out
from one of the stalls with staff and
scallop shell. The Hostal de los Reyes
Catolicos looks even more splendid
than ever and we didn’t feel that
it was appropriate to even ask
whether genuine pilgrims are still
offered three nights free lodging in
the basement!
Two Weeks of Sunshine
The north-west corner of the
Peninsular is noted for its greenness.
In course of three weeks we enjoyed
nearly two weeks of very warm
brilliant sunshine, a few overcast
days and a couple of days when
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 37
The people for the most part
retain their stolid good humour
and smiling response to a few
words spoken in their own
language…
the only thing to do was to batten
down the hatches and retire to the
stacks of books we had brought
with us for such events.
With the pound almost at par with
the euro, Portugal is no longer
the bargain holiday destination
it was once. Petrol is noticeably
dearer than in Britain and even the
better quality wines are not much
cheaper, and some seem even
dearer. I was taken aback to �nd
Duas Quintas Douro wine at €18
– a far cry from the three escudos
we used to pay to top up our bottles
at the nearest corner shop on
days out! Despite the forty tonne
trucks pounding the highways, the
Portuguese economy is in serious
difficulty and unemployment,
though still not at Spanish levels,
is distressingly high. With it all,
the people for the most part retain
their stolid good humour and
smiling response to a few words
spoken in their own language. My
advice for a satisfying holiday?
Keep away from the big towns
and enjoy good food at any eatery
– best offer seen this holiday was
€3.50 for frango com arroz - where
you see queues of lorries and cars
parked outside!
 Where They Are Now
Tom Keane [Lisbon 1963-69]
Retired from parish work four
years ago, the diocese providing
him with a pension and a four
bedroom [one of which he uses
as his chapel] house. In his
retirement he is able to pursue
his photographic and gardening
hobbies and �nds time to get in
some reading as well. Though
Ireland is his preferred holiday
destination he has visited Portugal
three times in the past �ve years,
going to Lisboa, Fatima, Obidos,
Tomar and Evora among other
places. He helps out in the local
parish at weekends and provides
locum cover when needed.
Tony Flynn [Lisbon 1955-1961]
and as Prof [1965-1972]
Took retirement in 1997 and is now
a Minister of Holy Communion
at the local District hospital and
in his parish church where he is
also a Reader and an occasional
Live forever, Alma Mater, be her
sons for ever blest…
All Together Now!
Una voce concinamus,
Una stirpe proditi
Matrem Fratres salutamus
Quamvis longe dissiti
Pulchram piam, acclamamus
Vi amoris �lii.
38 | The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010
trainer for other ministers. As
well as giving occasional talks in
the parish he helps his wife Susan
in her United Reform Church
Ministry. Like many others, he
wishes that the Church didn’t
take such a prejudicial attitude
towards clergy who have left the
active ministry. Unsurprisingly
for anyone who knows Tony, his
special interests are Soccer and
Soccer. He is a committee member
of the Christian Council on Ageing
and has for twelve years been an
of�cial Visitor of an Old People’s
Home in Wythenshawe [soon to
close]. Cyprus and Portugal [apart
from the ‘tourist’ Algarve] are
favourite holiday destinations.
Anthony Hogarth [Lisbon 1963-
1967]
Retired some time ago, the diocese
providing �nancial support and a
house. He helps out occasionally
in his local parish. Hobbies include
art, photography and languages.
He prefers to take his holiday in
the UK but has visited central
Portugal.
Una �de sociati,
Una spe con�dimus –
Filiorum pietati
Debitis honoribus,
Matri et Fraternitati,
Crescat laus ex omnibus.
The Organ of the Inglesinhos
There appears to be a deal of
uncertainty about the origins of
the organ in the College Chapel.
Fred Robinson’s suggested date
of installation, 1807 [Lisbonian
July 2009, page 25], is perhaps
erroneous: the Peninsular War – the
French invaded Portugal in that
year – might have made transport
of such a large instrument rather
problematic. The instrument was
undoubtedly of English origin, but
when did it arrive? A recent article
in O journal do Barreiro, [translated]
might shed an oblique light on the
mystery.
During the nineteenth century
the church of Saints Peter and
Paul was in such a condition as to
have the reputation of being the
worst in Lisbon… it was considered
dangerous even to be under its
roof. The lack of �nancial resources
was an obstacle to any decision to
build a new church or to undertake
any other work that would allow
the College to comfortably
accommodate students, superiors
and all the other people who
frequented the place.
In 1857 two benefactors, Joana
d’Araujo Carneiro d’Oeynhausen
and Mgr Jerónimo da Mata, Bishop
of Macau, provided the funding
that allowed the undertaking of
improvements that were �nished
by December of the following year.
In the course of these necessary
The Lisbonian magazine – January 2010 | 39
repairs a lot of items were replaced.
It was thus that an organ of modest
dimensions went from the Bairro
Alto to Barreiro [which in those days
was part of the district of Lisbon]
to the church of Santa Cruz. José
Augusto Pimenta, in his book
‘Memoria Historica e Descriptiva
da Vila do Barreiro’, published in
Lisbon in 1886, records that ‘There
is in this church an organ, not
very large but with well-sounding
and harmonious voices, that was
bought by the Confraternity of the
Most Holy Sacrament in 1858 from
the community of the Inglezinhos of
the city of Lisbon.’
The Confraternity, which used part
of the church for their meetings,
storage of property and archives,
was dissolved after 1910 at which
time the church was closed and
despoiled of all its statues, liturgical
items and ornaments, some of
which were sold and others ended
up in the ownership of Confraternity
of Nossa Senhora do Rosario. After
that time of political unrest the
church was eventually acquired
privately, with the intention of
being restored to worship, and
underwent a series of restoration
programmes. And now, under a red
cloth in the choir loft of Barreiro
parish church stands a modest
organ…’
[Ed But is this the same instrument
as was taken from the College?]
 English College Lisbon

© 2009 Peter J Harrison – Living Publications – Design and Typesetting