Donna Gambol is at the ancestral home of the Venerable Lucia de Jesus, where she lived until the age of 14, until she first entered the convent of the Sisters of Saint Dorothy and later the Order of the Discalced Carmelites. The home has become a frequent stop for pilgrims to Fatima, where three children witnessed the apparition of the Virgin Mary.
Donna’s sister Midge Bash is at the bridge leading to Salamanca, Spain, with the Salamanca Cathedral in the background. The cathedral is actually two churches joined together, the first dating from the 12th and 13th centuries and the new one from the 16th century.
Midge is also pictured at the Church of St. Anthony of Lisbon (also known as St. Anthony of Padua). Tradition holds that the church was built on the site where he was born. It was rebuilt in 1767 in the Baroque Rococo style. In 1982, Pope John Paul II visited the church and inaugurated the statue of Saint Anthony by Soares Branco, to the left.
Donna and Midge brought along three different issues of OC Catholic! They are parishioners of St. Anne Parish in Seal Beach.
—Submitted by Donna Gambol