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Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça (Faial da Terra)

Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça (Faial da Terra)

Faial da Terra, PT

The primitive church of Nossa Senhora da Graça is mentioned by Gaspar Frutuoso, who celebrates its festival annually on the 8th of September, even as its first vicar, Father Barabam. This would certainly have been a very modest temple, with loose stone walls and a thatched roof.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça (Porto Formoso)

Porto Formoso, PT

This temple, located at the bottom of a high staircase, stands tall over the parish houses, standing out among them. It features good stonework made from dark basalt stone. This temple is equipped with a bell tower.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça (Praia do Almoxarife)

Church of Nossa Senhora da Graça (Praia do Almoxarife)

Praia do Almoxarife, PT

It dates back to a primitive church, certainly smaller in size, about which nothing is known other than that it was very old, as it is mentioned in a document from 1568, which deals with the elevation of the congrues of the island of Faial. It was one of the temples looted and burned down in Horta, in August 1597, by Sir Walter Raleigh, of the fleet under the command of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, and was rebuilt at the expense of the Royal Treasury.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Guia (Horta)

Church of Nossa Senhora da Guia (Horta)

Horta, PT

It was built in the same place where there was a primitive hermitage, with the same invocation, at the end of the 17th century and beginning of the 18th century, by the then Captain-Major Tomaz Pórraz Pereira, having been opened for worship in 1714. Given the demolition of the original hermitage, due to the advanced state of degradation in which it was found, due to bad weather and frequent seismic crises, in the second half of the 20th century, the current temple was born, which was considered completed in 1943.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia (Vila do Porto)

Church of Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia (Vila do Porto)

Vila do Porto, PT

Although the date of the founding of Misericórdia de Vila do Porto is not known, it is known that it was founded before 1536, being considered as the first "commitment" that was established in the archipelago.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Paz

Church of Nossa Senhora da Paz

Vila Franca Do Campo, PT

This temple built in 1764 dates back to a more primitive temple, possibly erected in the 16th century, according to tradition in the place where a shepherd found an image of the Virgin in a cave. The current temple, built over the previous one, dates from the 18th century.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Penha de França (Água Retorta)

Church of Nossa Senhora da Penha de França (Água Retorta)

Agua Retorta, PT

This temple was built in the years 1871 and 1885, and its bell tower is older than the currently existing temple as it is reminiscent of a hermitage that existed here under the same invocation and whose foundation dated back to the 17th century.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade (Ponta Garça)

Church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade (Ponta Garça)

Ponta Garça, PT

The original church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade in Ponta Garça was already built in the first half of the 16th century, on the initiative of Lopo Anes de Araújo. It was a temple of modest dimensions, as can be seen from the visitation letter dated January 15, 1696.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade (Santo Espírito)

Church of Nossa Senhora da Piedade (Santo Espírito)

Vila do Porto, PT

It is mentioned by MONTE ALVERNE (1986) at the end of the 17th century. It dates back to a primitive hermitage built in the place of Piedade by the community itself. Mass was celebrated there, on Sundays, by the parish priest, João Pimentel. This religious man had the old temple demolished, re-erecting it where it stands today, in Malbusca, on land donated for this purpose by Bernardino Pacheco.

Church of Nossa Senhora da Purificação (Santo Espírito)

Church of Nossa Senhora da Purificação (Santo Espírito)

Santo Espírito, PT

Its original construction dates back to the 16th century, under the invocation of Our Lady of Purification, as stated in all known documents. It is before 1537, since, in the will of João Tomé, the "Master", dated March 13 of that year, mention is made of the House of Our Lady of Purification.

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