Feast in Honour of Blessed Vicente de Santo António

Every year, the Parish of Albufeira, in collaboration with the Municipality, organises a religious programme in honour of Blessed Vicente de Santo António. This year, it begins at 16:30 with a Solemn Mass with Sacrament and Confirmation at the Main Church, followed by a Procession at 18:00. Vicente was born in 1590 in Albufeira. His parents sent him to Lisbon, where, after revealing talent in the ecclesiastical career, he was ordained a priest at 27. In 1623, he went to Japan, where he had to change his attire and name, becoming a travelling salesman in the streets of Nagasaki. After passing through Spain, Mexico, and the Philippines, he was martyred in Japan on 3 September 1632. He was beatified in the Catholic Church by Pope Pius IX on 7 July 1867. The historical figure of Blessed Vicente was rehabilitated in the 1960s by Fathers José Cabrita and Semedo Azevedo, with the first procession in honour of this local son taking place on 3 September 1965.