With the main road between Raminho and Serreta reopened after two years of closure following an earthquake-related landslide, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Miracles is expecting an increase in pilgrims for the 2026 festivities. The Diocese has estimated that some 12,000 people may make their way to Serreta this year—many on foot, carrying promises, petitions and, increasingly, simple words of gratitude.
There are roads on Terceira that are measured not only in kilometers but in intention. During the days of the Serreta festivities, people walk them slowly: alone, beside children and parents, among friends or colleagues, sometimes through darkness, fatigue and silence. At the end stands the Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora dos Milagres, but the pilgrimage often begins much earlier—in an illness endured, a child’s future, a family difficulty, a fear overcome, or simply in the recognition that another year has been given.
This year one of those roads is open again. The principal connection between Raminho and Serreta, closed for approximately two years after a landslide caused by an earthquake, has reopened, and the sanctuary expects that easier access will contribute to greater participation. Even before the principal pilgrimage day, Rector João Pires reported a noticeable flow of people arriving from that part of Terceira. The Diocese indicated in August that approximately 12,000 pilgrims could participate in 2026.
What draws them cannot easily be reduced to a single expression of devotion. Some walk to fulfill a promise or ask for a blessing; others come because something good has happened and gratitude requires a journey. João Pires tells of families whose children have entered university and who have taken advantage of the sanctuary remaining open until midnight to make their pilgrimage. He remembers encountering a father and daughter and asking whether they had come to request something. Their answer was simple: “No, we came to give thanks.”
That small exchange says much about the enduring power of Serreta. Pilgrimage is often imagined as the language of need, but it can also be the language of gratitude. Increasingly, the rector says, groups of friends and colleagues make the journey together. This year pilgrims have included an Army contingent led by Father Gaspar Pimentel and a group from Casa de Saúde do Espírito Santo on Terceira, accompanied by its chaplain, Father Miguel Tavares. Different lives arrive by the same roads, carrying different reasons.
“During a year, so many things happen in people’s lives—joys, suffering, tragedies, illnesses, uncertainties,” João Pires reflects. People therefore feel the need to come to the sanctuary and “drink from the source, from the Word of God.” Perhaps that is why the Serreta pilgrimage has endured. It creates a physical expression for experiences that are otherwise difficult to articulate. The body walks what the heart has lived.
The pilgrimage also demands practical care. Pires has urged those traveling on foot to use appropriate footwear and reflective clothing, remain hydrated and consider weather conditions before beginning their journey. He has asked pilgrims to protect the environment and leave the roads and surrounding landscape clean, while appealing to motorists for particular vigilance during these days of intense pedestrian movement.
The religious program extends through the weekend. Following the novena that began September 4, the sanctuary is now remaining open around the clock until Monday. Today’s celebrations include Mass at 4 p.m. and the novena Mass at 8 p.m., followed by the traditional midnight Mass, with Father Bruno Esteves Rodrigues presiding. A Eucharistic vigil runs from 3 to 6 a.m. Sunday, followed by Masses at 9 and 11 a.m. The principal feast Mass takes place at 4 p.m., presided over by Father Júlio Rocha, with the procession beginning at 5:30 p.m. Musical performances and other traditional festivities continue during the following days, alongside the secular dimensions that have long accompanied the religious celebration.
Yet beneath the program, music and crowds lies something quieter. The Festa da Serreta remains one of those moments when Terceira can still be seen walking—literally—toward a shared inheritance. People arrive from different parishes and generations, some carrying rosaries, others carrying memories, many carrying questions for which there may never be easy answers.
And sometimes, as that father and daughter reminded the rector, they carry no request at all.
They simply walk the road to Serreta to say thank you.
Based on a story in Diário Insular-José Lourenço, director. Phtos from DI and Santurário de Nossa Senhora dos Milagres, Serreta.