Assumption of Mary

August 15 is a public holiday in Portugal. As a catholic country we commemorate the assumption of Mary into Heaven.

This picture by the Portuguese artist Paula Rego is in the chapel of Belem Palace, the official residence of the President of the Republic, who shared it on facebook.

The biggest religious procession in Madeira Island takes place in Monte every year on 15 August. It is organized to honour Our Lady of Monte, the Patroness of Madeira. 

The Church of Our Lady of Monte  (1818) is located in the picturesque village of Monte, 6 km away from Funchal. It is in this church that the last emperor of Austria, Charles I was buried. He died in Monte, where he lived in exile, in 1922.

It is also near the Church of Monte that the famous wicker basket guides, dressed in traditional white with straw hats, wait for their customers to start the toboggan ride, which Ernest Hemingway described as “the most exhilarating experience of my life”.