Mass in Latin America

While I was trying to figure out what to write today, I was surprised when I remembered that I haven’t written about what it is like to go to mass in Latin America. When we first got here, I was anxious to see how different Catholic mass was here compared to the US.



Over 90% of Brazilians are Catholic, so you can imagine how many Catholic churches are in Brazil. I think I’ve been in more churches here than in the US. I’ve written previously about how much work and detail go into some of the churches here. Photos just don’t do some of these places justice; it’s one of those things you have to see to believe.



The first thing you notice when you walk into church is how casual people many people are dressed. Like the rest of Rio, shorts and flip-flops are not a problem. While we can’t bring ourselves to dress down that much, I understand that some people can’t help but dress that way when they are packed into a church with no air conditioning.



The music at mass here is VERY lively and upbeat. Grace loves it. We usually sit near the choir/band because she likes to watch people playing the different instruments. You won’t find boring organ music here. There are a lot of drums, guitars, and harmonicas. Any part of the mass that can be sung, is sung. It’s very uplifting!



Of course the most difficult part of mass here is that is in Portuguese! I think the only reason that Grace behaves as well as she does is because of the music. We try to read the readings in English before we go. I admit that I even find my mind wandering because my brain just can’t translate fast enough.



As I mentioned before, churches here are not air conditioned so the doors are left open. It wouldn’t be Brazil unless you saw the occasional stray dog wander into church…