O Meu Diário de Coimbra

Unleavened Ethos

Igreja De Santa Justa (Church of Santa Justa), on Bairro Sta. Justa 1, is about 1,000 yards up the street from where I live. The church, the yard, the surrounding buildings look haunted. Have heard it said before but other aspects of the faith, but this Catholicism is intimidating.

I walked by the church Good Friday morning and noticed three birds on the cross. As I got closer, one of the birds, the one stage left — the one I named Gestas for obvious reasons — decided to hightail it out of there. Don’t know if you can see it, but the wood is rotting.

In between the rain, people walked up this incline . . .

. . . then these steps,

. . . and then into the sanctuary.

Erected in the 13th Century, the church holds an altarpiece from when King João V ran the show in Portugal. According to the church’s website, “Despite its beauty, the Church of Santa Justa faces challenges due to a lack of maintenance, affecting both its delicate artwork and electrical systems. Nonetheless, the church remains a deeply spiritual space, where the Franciscan ethos invites moments of quiet reflection and prayer.”

Funny thing about the voices in your head and when and why they’re unleashed. First I time I came across the above, I heard my father: “Like Jews don’t have ethos, too. We got plenty of ethos. Don’t worry about it. How about first fixing the goddamn cross?”