A place with over 700 years of history
A place with over 700 years of history
In 1271 the construction of the convent began, with accommodation for 50 hermit friars of St Augustine, and the building work was sponsored by King Afonso III.
T he convent became the head of the Portuguese Province of the Order of St Augustine from 1291 until its extinction in 1834. According to tradition, in 1362, the image of Our Lady of Grace appeared in Cascais in the net of fishermen who came to deliver it to the convent of Graça the following day.
In 1375, the Fernandina wall was built, which surrounded the convent to the south. According to legend, the image of Our Lady of Grace announced the victory of King João I's armies in the Battle of Aljubarrota, and so a vow was made to come to the church every year in procession, a custom that was only interrupted during the Iberian union. only interrupted during the Iberian union between 1580 and 1640.
In 1472, Rui Gomes de Alvarenga and Mrs Melícia de Melo, parents of the Viceroy of India Lopo Soares de Albergaria, established a chapel in the convent. On 24 March 1506, the date of his departure for India, Afonso de Albuquerque left a will establishing a chapel in the church of the convent of Graça, where his father and great-grandfather were buried. In 1530, the transfer of the chapel, called São Fulgêncio (now the baptistery), built in the old sacristy by the aforementioned Lopo Soares de Albergaria, was legalised for him and his heirs, where his wife, D. Joana de Albuquerque, was buried.
As their descendants fell to the Vaz de Almada, because their heiress daughter had married D. Fernando de Almada, and they were lords of Pombalinho for precisely the same reason, they began to use it to bury their representatives. This prerogative lasted until at least 8 March 1865, when it was still in the possession of the counts of Almada. In 1544, King João III donated the land to the north and west of the Fernandina fence to the convent. Fernandina fence. In 1551, the convent had 70 friars and 13 chapels. Between 1556 and 1565, the church with three naves was rebuilt on the initiative of Vicar Friar Luís de Montoya, with only the current baptistery remaining.
On 18 May 1566, the remains of Afonso de Albuquerque were buried in the chancel. mor chapel. The remains of José Francisco de Mendonça, cardinal-patriarch of Lisbon, are also buried in this space. also buried in this space. In Lent 1586, the first Procession of the Lord of the Steps of Graça was held at the request of the painter Luís Alvares de Andrade. Today, under the organisation of the Royal Brotherhood of the Lord of the Steps of Graça, it still goes out to the parish of Graça every year since that date.
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