Portuguese American Journal

Portuguese American Journal

Featured Stories
Book | Reduction in Force: Poems by Hugo dos Santos  Community | Portuguese diaspora entrepreneurs network to be created Debate | Portuguese lawmakers propose shift in gender identity laws Vatican City | Pope Leo XIV to visit Fátima in the near future Community | Boston Red Sox to honor Portuguese Heritage Night
 

Book | Reduction in Force: Poems by Hugo dos Santos  – Review

By Millicent Borges Accardi Born in Lisboa, Portugal, Hugo dos Santos was raised in New Jersey. An award-winning writer and translator, his books include a collection of short stories about Newark, Then, there (Spuyten Duyvil, 2019), his upcoming book, book A Reduction in Force (Bauhan Publishing, 2026), winner of the May Sarton New Hampshire Poetry […]

Community | Portuguese diaspora entrepreneurs network to be created – Portugal

The Secretary of State for Portuguese Communities, Emídio Sousa, has expressed his intention to foster the creation of an economic community that connects Portuguese citizens and their descendants worldwide, aiming to strengthen ties between the diaspora and Portugal’s economy. His proposal centers on leveraging the global Portuguese diaspora, estimated at more than five million people, […]

Debate | Portuguese lawmakers propose shift in gender identity laws – Portugal

Portugal’s parliament has voted in a preliminary session to advance three controversial bills that would significantly alter the country’s gender identity framework, marking a potential shift away from one of Europe’s most progressive legal models.  The proposals, backed by center-right and right-wing parties including the Social Democratic Party (PSD), Chega, and CDS-PP, would move forward […]

Vatican City | Pope Leo XIV to visit Fátima in the near future – Portugal

Pope Leo XIV has expressed a clear desire to visit Portugal, fueling growing expectations that a future papal trip will include the Sanctuary of Fátima, one of the world’s most significant Catholic pilgrimage sites.  While the Vatican has confirmed there is no imminent official visit being planned, recent diplomatic and ecclesiastical signals suggest the visit […]

Community | Boston Red Sox to honor Portuguese Heritage Night – Massachusetts

The Boston Red Sox have announced a special Portuguese Heritage Night on June 3 at Fenway Park, as the team takes on the Baltimore Orioles.  June’s designation as Portuguese-American Heritage Month in Massachusetts gives added significance to the Red Sox celebration at Fenway Park.  The honor is part of the club’s ongoing commitment to celebrate […]

Book | Slavery and Religious Conversion in Portugal’s Indian Empire, 1500-1700 | By Stephanie Hassel – Editor’s Note

29 April 2025

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, enslaved Africans and Asians were part of the larger Portuguese project of building and maintaining a Catholic empire in the Indian Ocean. Both the Church and the Crown influenced the owner-slave relationship across households, the most basic organizational unit of power over the populace. Responsible for their enslaved dependents’ […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Books, Featured, Heritage, Portugal, Religion, World

Travel Alert | Massive power outage paralysed airports  – Portugal

28 April 2025

Portugal experienced a nationwide power outage today, April 28, as part of a widespread blackout that also affected Spain, France, and other European countries. The exact cause is still under investigation. The outage began around 12:30 p.m. local time, severely disrupting airports in major cities including Lisbon, Porto, and Faro. The Lisbon Metro, trains, and […]

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Posted in Azores, Community, Featured, Madeira, Portugal, Travel, World

Azores | Pace University students visited the Azores to learn about Viola da Terra – New York, NY

27 April 2025

Pace University students, enrolled in the “Producing the Documentary” course (MCA 370/MCA 655), recently traveled to the Azorean islands of São Miguel and Terceira to film a documentary titled Viola da Terra: Harmony of the Azores. As part of a faculty-led study abroad program, the project explored the cultural significance of the Viola da Terra, […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Azores, Community, Education, Entertainment, Featured, Film, Heritage, Music, Organizations, People, São Miguel, Terceira

In Memoriam | The Portuguese nation mourns Pope Francis (1936-2025) – Portugal

23 April 2025

The Portuguese government declared a national day of mourning in honor of Pope Francis, following his death on April 21, expressing the nation’s respect and recognition of his contributions to global peace and social justice. The Portuguese government also declared three days of national mourning from April 24 to 26. During this period, flags across […]

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Posted in Featured, Organizations, People, Portugal, Religion, World

Community | Rhode Island College to suspend Portuguese language courses – Providence,RI

22 April 2025

Rhode Island College (RIC) has announced it will suspend several academic programs, including the Portuguese concentration within the Modern Languages BA, beginning in Fall 2025, prompting community outcry.  Community advocates are calling on RIC leadership to reverse course and engage meaningfully with students, faculty, and stakeholders. The decision, outlined in RIC’s recently released Productivity and […]

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Posted in Azores, Community, Education, Featured, Heritage, Madeira, Organizations, People, Portugal

Book | Sorrowful Mysteries: The Shepherd Children of Fatima and the Fate of the Twentieth Century | By Stephen Harrigan – Editor’s Note

18 April 2025

In 1917, in Fatima, Portugal, three shepherd children claimed that the Virgin Mary appeared before them and spoke the words, “Do not be afraid.” Stephen Harrigan first heard the story of Our Lady of Fatima when he was a young boy attending a Catholic school in Texas in the 1950s, struggling to come to grips […]

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Posted in Books, Featured, Heritage, People, Portugal, Religion