U.Porto Memory

Rectory Building of the U.Porto - Background: reference works

Church and former Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo (national monument)

The Discalced Carmelites came to Porto in 1617, represented by father Tomás de S. Cirilo and Father Sebastião da Ressurreição, who were staying in the house of the Governor, D. Diogo Lopes de Sousa. It was not easy to obtain a license from the Bishop of Porto so that this congregation could settle in Porto due to the pressure from other congregations. However, the intercession of the poet from Porto, Bernarda de Lacerda, a woman of great culture and devout of the Discalced Carmelites, ensured that ten monks remained in Rua de S. Miguel, in a house leased from the Abbot of S. Vicente de Pinheiro. They moved from this house to a plot of land in Campo do Olival given by the Bishop and the City Council - now occupied by the GNR headquarters - and built the Nossa Senhora do Carmo Convent. The first stone was laid on 5 May 1619 and the building was completed in 1622 with donations from aristocrats, merchants and the City Council.

The church dates back to the 18^th century and is built on the east side of the convent, in Mannerist and Baroque styles. The church has a vaulted Latin cross plan with a single nave preceded by a foyer. The classical frontage boast three arches supporting three large windows topped by niches with statues of Saint Joseph, Saint Theresa and Our Lady of Carmo, and is topped by a triangular pediment showing the coat of arms of the religious order under the royal crown. The interior of the church is decorated in gilded woodcarvings in Baroque and Rococo styles. The church is built between the three-storey bell tower, clad in glazed tiles and with a pyramid roof, and the Church of Venerável Ordem Terceira do Carmo, on the east side.