The matchmaker

June is the month of popular saints in Portugal. Come one and enjoy yourself.

The alleys and lanes of the city's most traditional neighborhoods are dressed in ribbons, colorful balloons and ornamented manjericos to honor the most beloved patron of the capital, Santo António. In fact, in a country that claims to be Catholic often the religious and the profane are mixed naturally and from that large junction are born popular tradition that still remains unchanged, the fame of this holy saint as a matchmaker is one of such example. Although San Antonio has been a great orator, intellectual and provider of the poor, his prestige as protector of young marriageable is unwavering.

Even today it is not clear his reputation, but legend has it that a young woman who was going to be sold into prostitution by her mother prayed to the saint in desperation, asking for his help to escape from this cruel fate. The saint heard her call and dropped in her hands a ticket which promised a merchant many coins of silver as the weight of the paper. The young lady went to a dealer who placed the note in a scale that only lunged after being placed 400 coins of silver. The story spread quickly through the city and the girl stopped having problems finding good men for marriage. After the "miracle", every year, thousands of devotees visit this place of worship dedicated to the saint, in Santa Maria Maggiore, in Se, whose interior is studded with coins on the floor and walls covered with messages, in particular, request for a boyfriend or a husband. And tradition dictates that after marrying they revisit this church and leave flowers as a thank you, which happens very often, and then it is the most fragrant temple of Lisbon.