Portuguese American Journal

Portuguese American Journal

Featured Stories
Election’26 | Socialist António José Seguro wins presidency Update | Extreme weather events continue battering the country nationwide Community | Camões Institute promotes Portuguese language teaching Honor | President José Bolieiro awarded the Peter Benchley Ocean Award Book | Representing the Middle Ages in Modern Portugal (1890–1947) | By Pedro Martins
 

Election’26 | Socialist António José Seguro wins presidency – Portugal

Socialist António José Seguro was elected President of Portugal today, in a second-round runoff election, winning about 66–67% of the vote against far-right populist Chega candidate André Ventura with about 33–34% – according to near-final ballots counted. The national tally is not yet fully closed, as some precincts and consular votes remain to be counted. […]

Update | Extreme weather events continue battering the country nationwide – Portugal 

Since late January, Portugal has confronted the cumulative impact of three successive Atlantic winter storms, which have caused fatalities, infrastructure destruction, flooding, and emergency response operations across the mainland, including Madeira and the Azores regions.  Over the weekend, a third storm front, named Marta, developed across the municipalities of Leiria, Coimbra, Santarém, and Lisbon districts, […]

Community | Camões Institute promotes Portuguese language teaching – California

On February 3, 2026, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Camões — Institute for Cooperation and Language, I.P. and the California Department of Education (CDE) during a ceremony held at the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, located on the 5th floor of 1430 N Street in Sacramento, California. The Consul […]

Honor | President José Bolieiro awarded the Peter Benchley Ocean Award – Monterey, CA

José Manuel Bolieiro, President of the Regional Government of the Azores, has been honored with the prestigious Peter Benchley Ocean Award, recognizing his leadership and commitment to ocean conservation, sustainable marine governance, and the protection of Atlantic ecosystems. Bolieiro is scheduled to formally accept the distinction, often referred to as the “Oscars of the Ocean,” […]

Book | Representing the Middle Ages in Modern Portugal (1890–1947) | By Pedro Martins – Editor’s Note

What role did the Middle Ages play in the construction of Portuguese national identity in the modern age? Which medieval ideas, themes, objects, buildings, events, and figures contributed to this process? How did Portuguese intellectuals, artists, and politicians from the late-nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century narrate, rework, and commemorate them? These are some of […]

Opinion | Catholicism in decline amongst the most devout – Portugal

12 January 2023

By Len Port Pope Emeritus Benedict XVl has been buried. Pope Francis has mobility impairment. The Catholic religion is in decline. However, the Sanctuary of Fátima in Portugal is surging ahead and this will again welcome millions of pilgrims and tourists. Benedict, the first pontiff to resign in six centuries, did so in February 2013; […]

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Posted in Azores, Community, Featured, Heritage, Madeira, Organizations, People, Portugal, Religion, World

Travel: Portuguese passport sixth on the world passport index – Portugal

12 January 2023

The Portuguese passport was ranked sixth, down from fifth, as one of the most “powerful” in the world offering visa-free passports for 187 countries, according to the 2023 Henley Passport Index (HPI). Portugal shared the same spot with France, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The HPI, based on data from the International Air Transport Association […]

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

Book | Atlantic Linchpin: The Azores in Two World Wars | by Guy Warner – Editor’s Note

11 January 2023

On a map, the Azores appear as nine tiny specks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but their location was to prove strategically vital in two world wars. The Atlantic became a crucial battleground twice within the space of 25 years, as the U.S. arsenal of democracy sent firstly stores, arms, and equipment, followed […]

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Posted in Azores, Books, Featured, Heritage, Terceira, World

Vatican: Late Pope Benedict XVI visited Fátima in 2010 – Portugal

31 December 2022

Benedict XVI (1927-2022) visited Portugal from May 11 to May 14, 2010, at the invitation of President Aníbal Cavaco Silva, to preside over the religious ceremonies at Marian Sanctuary of Fátima on May 13th where he was joined by over 500,000 pilgrims. On his pastoral visit to Portugal, Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass at the […]

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

Book | (Dis)connected Empires| by Zoltán Biedermann – Editor’s Note

22 December 2022

(Dis)connected Empires takes the reader on a global journey to explore the triangle formed during the sixteenth century between the Portuguese empire, the empire of Kotte in Sri Lanka, and the Catholic Monarchy of the Spanish Habsburgs. It explores nine decades of connections, cross-cultural diplomacy, and dialogue, to answer one troubling question: why, in the end, […]

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

Dian Sousa: How to write while drunk and cooking the perfect egg – Interview

22 December 2022

By Millicent Borges Accardi With roots in the Azores. activist and a poet Dian Sousa has been writing poems since she was five years old. She is the author of two books of poetry: Lullabies for the Spooked and Cool (Millie Grazie Press, 2004), The Marvels Recorded In My Private Closet ( Big Yes Press […]

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Posted in Arts&Culture, Azores, Books, Community, Featured, Heritage, Interviews, People, Terceira, World