Churches

The Igreja da Misericórdia do Porto is located on the historic Rua das Flores in downtown Porto. The church does not stand alone but is instead sandwiched between the offices and shops that line this typical Porto street.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima (Santuário de Fátima) is one of the world’s largest Catholic pilgrimage sites, attracting between 4 and 5 million visitors every year.  Here, between 13th May and 13th October 1917, three shepherd children are believed to have witnessed six apparitions of the Virgin Mary, who imparted various messages and predictions about the future.  During the last of these apparitions it is said that around 50,000 observers witnessed the sun moving around in the sky in a way which defied the laws of cosmology.

Between 13th May and 13th October 1917, three local shepherd children living near Fátima are said to have witnessed apparitions of the Virgin Mary.  The Sanctuary in Fatima is now a leading pilgrimage site for Catholics from around the world and attracts between 4 and 5 million visitors each year.  The eldest of these three children, Lucia dos Santos, lived as a Carmelite nun until 2005, devoting her life to prayer and sacrifice.

In 1182 Dom Fuas Roupinho, a local dignitary, hunting deer in the area, almost fell to his death when the animal he was giving chase to plunged over the cliffs.  Knowing that there was a sacred grotto nearby, the horseman implored the help of Our Lady and it is said that his horse suddenly stopped, saving both horse and rider from following the deer to certain death in the waters below. 

The Hermitage of Our Lady of Nazareth (Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Nazaré) stands in an imposing hilltop position in Sitio, overlooking the town of Nazare in Western Portugal. The original Ermida da Memoria (Memorial Chapel) close by was built in the 14th century but was too small to accommodate the many pilgrims who were drawn to the site, so the much larger Ermida da Nossa Senhora da Nazare was built in 17th century.   

The shrine of Fatima has two Basilicas and attracts millions of Catholic pilgrims annually.  At the heart of the Sanctuary complex, and the focal point for most visitors to Fatima, is the Chapel of the Apparitions, built on the exact spot where, between 13th May and 13th October 1917 three peasant children witnessed a series of apparitions of the Virgin Mary, who spoke to the children and conveyed messages of the need for the conversion of Russia and the need for acts of penance throughout the world.

The Roman Catholic church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Our Lady of Conception) is Portimão's main parish church and still plays an active role in the heart of the local community.

The Igreja da Misericórdia (Church of Mercy) in Tavira was built between 1541 and 1551 and is considered to be one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture on The Algarve.

Today this is a Pousada hotel, but until the 19^th century the Convento de Nossa Senhora da Graça da Ordem de Santo Agostinho was an Augustinian monastery.

The church of Santa Maria do Castelo, a short stroll from Tavira's Moorish castle, was built in the 13^th century on the site of what was probably one of the largest Moorish mosques on The Algarve. It was significantly damaged in the 1755 earthquake and was later re-modelled in Neo-Classical style, although parts of the clock tower with its arched Arabic-style windows and the Gothic stone portal are believed to date from the original 13^th century structure.