40,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses discuss happiness at Dragão Stadium in Porto

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Jehovah’s Witnesses gather at Dragão Stadium

Until Sunday, around 40,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses are discussing the path to happiness at Dragão Stadium in Porto. The international convention, attended by more than 3,200 overseas delegates, is a demonstration of religious unity.

Anyone walking around Dragão Stadium on Friday might have assumed there was a match on. Those looking at the packed stands could have been convinced that FC Porto were playing at home. Yet this was not football, but faith. Rather than the pitch usually occupied by players, there was a platform from which happiness was discussed with 40,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Until tomorrow, Porto is hosting one of the religious community’s international conventions, where subjects including anxiety and finding a sense of purpose in life are being explored through the Bible.

“It is because I fully believe that the only way to find happiness is to seek it from the one who created it, God, that I attend this convention,” says 49-year-old José Salgueiro. Originally from Cortegaça, in Ovar, he has lost track of how many conventions he has attended and always returns: “Being here and listening to the guidance He gives us through the Bible helps me become a better person. I only benefit from it.”

14 countries represented

While on holiday, 40-year-old Sara Galvão travelled from Paris to Porto to attend an international convention for the second time because “it is always special” and “it is very beautiful to see people from different countries who share the same faith”. “There are many countries represented. It shows how we live alongside one another and that there are no barriers,” she says. In total, more than 3,200 delegates from 14 countries are taking part in the three-day religious gathering.

Faith and happiness

“This reflects what we always try to do, whether as a family or when we meet in smaller or larger groups: to be well and practise our faith,” explains regional spokesperson Marco Santos.

“In an increasingly complicated world, being here makes us happy and helps us live better,” Sara Galvão says.