Ranjan P.
Yelp
Gorgeous cathedral--we wandered in as an afterthought en route to the "real" attraction, the main church and museum, but because the line was impossibly long and snaking around the block, we saw this not so little cathedral off to the side (the views are stunning from outside, with a wide vista of Porto, rooftops of houses cuts an incredible postcard view). We poked our head into the front intricately carved door and to our delight, saw an ongoing mass. Despite my husband wanting to keep a "respectful," distance, I walked in and sat down, after which he followed. We sat in reverence and silence as the priest gave his sermon in what I assumed was Portuguese. The experience was awe-inspiring, the interior glittering with stained glass, colored and twinkling with dappled sun shining through. The light streaming in over our heads, the cavernous vaulted ceilings, darkened and hushed swooshing of sounds, long plush scarlet swaths of carpet along the floor, as if from a fairy tale, castle like from the medieval era. At one point the priest said something, and everybody burst into the most beautiful song, in unison, they were singing lilting voices in chorus and symphony with one another. It felt ethereal in the best way possible. How I longed to join them, but didn't know the language nor the words. I sat there enthralled, eyes moist. At the end, boom! Everyone was reaching out to the person in front of them and behind, across the benches, even to us whom they did not know ... to shake hands with both of their palms! So many many people went waaay out of their way to hold our hands in theirs with open faces and smiles, beaming love. At this point, I was pretty much bawling. We had never experienced anything like this, so genuine, warm, authentic, so frikkin real, no formality or airs. Just pure humanity in the presence of incredible architectural grandeur, the curving lines somehow met the softness of the people in the church. Thank-you, Porto :-)
