A light that never goes out

The origins of the snail procession in Reguengo do Fetal, near Batalha, date back to the 19th century, deeply linked to the devotion to Our Lady of Fetal. In fact, this deep-rooted popular devotion has led to the creation of the sanctuary, named after the saint. 

The image of Our Lady of Fetal is an 17th century sculpture in stone s absolutely crucial to understand the pilgrimages and the religious faith in this saint.

According to local legend, devotion to Our Lady of Fetal is due to a young shepherdess who was herding cattle and crying because she was hungry. Our Lady appeared to her and sent her to ask her mother for bread: “Tell her that a woman sent you to tell her that there is bread in the ark”. The ark, which had been empty, was miraculously filled with bread. 

The processions take place at night, using thousands of snail shells, which are soaked in olive oil, twisted with string to act as a wick and which, once lit, give a unique visual effect.

The first procession, after the public lighting switch-off, takes the image of Our Lady of Fetal from the shrine of the same name to the parish church. The following Saturday, the procession is repeated, but in the opposite direction.

The preparation of the thousands of snail shells used in the processions involves the voluntary labour of around 200 people from the village of Reguengo do Fetal, ranging from kindergarten children to users of the village's old people's home. Also noteworthy is the involvement of the parish's emigrants, with a strong presence in the United States of America, who return to their home village around the time of the festivities and take an active part in the decorations.

The use of snail shells to light the two processions involves considerable quantities of materials and resources, such as 6,000 metres of wick used to burn the oil, 12,000 completely clean snail shells and 500 litres of oil to fill all the shells. The snail shells occupy plots of land, walls or walls, forming motifs or words linked to the life of the parish, the church and other themes, along a route of around 800 metres.

In January 2024, the Municipality of Batalha submitted an application to have this religious festival included in the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage, with the collaboration of the Reguengo do Fetal Parish Council, the Reguengo do Fetal Parish Church Commission and the community of this parish and its emigrants. The application process followed a careful form that clarifies the historical, devotional and heritage importance of this religious event, hand-in-hand with written and oral sources, web graphics, photographs, articles and pieces published in the media, films, documentaries and sound archives.