Witnesses /

correspondent of O Século at Torres Novas

Journalist

Local correspondent of the Lisbon daily O Século writing from Meia Via (Torres Novas), whose July 1917 report Formigão summarised.

From Meia Via, Torres NovasThe surrounding regionAttitude beforehand: Sceptic1 passage · 13 July 1917
13 JulSecond-handPartlyPress reportScepticCrowd sceneThunder / noise
As told by Manuel Nunes Formigão (Visconde de Montelo)
English

The correspondent of the newspaper “O Seculo”, in the issue of 23 July, after saying that on the 13th of that month, in Torres Novas, a town abounding in livery stables, there was not a single carriage to be hired, a good many shops even closing, adds that at the place of the apparitions some thousands of people were gathered, and that a noise like the rumbling of thunder was heard, the children bursting into distressed weeping, making epileptic gestures and then falling into ecstasy; and he concludes by declaring that in his opinion it is a premeditated financial speculation, whose source of revenue lies in the bowels of the hills, in some spring of mineral waters recently discovered by some cunning individual who, under the shelter of religion, wants to turn the serra de Aire into a miraculous resort like old Lourdes.

Português (original)

O correspondente do jornal “O Seculo”, no numero de 23 de julho, depois de dizer que no dia 13 desse mez, em Torres Novas, villa abundante em alquilarias, não havia sequer um carro para alugar, chegando mesmo a fechar bastantes estabelecimentos, acrescenta que no local das aparições se encontravam reunidos alguns milhares de pessoas e que se ouviu um ruido semelhante ao ribombar do trovão, irrompendo as creanças num choro afflictivo, fazendo gestos epilepticos e cahindo depois em extase e conclue declarando que o seu parecer é que se trata duma premeditada especulação financeira, cuja fonte de receita existe nas entranhas da serra, em qualquer manancial de aguas mineraes que recentemente tenha descoberto algum individuo astucioso que á sombra da religião quer transformar a serra d'Ayre numa estancia miraculosa como a velha Lourdes.

DCF III-2, Doc. 406 · press · 23 Jul 1917 (10 days later)View scans (4)Link