Santarém Cathedral

The most recent Portuguese cathedral in an ancient building.

Formerly known as the Church of Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Colégio dos Jesuítas or Igreja do Seminário, the current Cathedral of Santarém is a 17 th century temple erected on the spot where the Paço Real da Alcáçova Nova once stood, a royal residence that has been abandoned since the time of D. João II (15 th century). In 1647, King D. João IV donated its ruins to the Society of Jesus so that it could create a college with a church dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception in its place. In 1780, after the Jesuits were expelled from Portugal, Queen D. Maria I gifted the buildings to the Patriarchate of Lisbon to use as their Seminary. With the creation of the Diocese of Santarém on July 16, 1975, the church was elevated to Cathedral.

The building, financed by D. Duarte da Costa, Jesuit and Master-Armourer, was built by the architect Mateus do Couto, the military's preferred Master of Works. His work is reflected in the Mannerist facade, divided into 5 sections and its flow is maintained by the arrangement of windows and decorative elements (niches that house the saints chosen by the Society of Jesus and at the top, the patron saint of the church). At the top of the facade is a pediment where the bell towers are conspicuous by their absence, having been replaced by two great volutes and pinnacles.

Inside, the Baroque style exudes in ornamental marbles, in the perfect use of gilded carving on four of the eight lateral altars and in the paintings of the nave’s ceilings and the main chapel, the latter having a perfect painting of the treatise of Andrea del Pozzo. The stone inlays of the main chapel, dating from 1713, are typical of the artistic taste of the time of D. João V (1706-1750). They are by the architect Carlos Baptista Garvo, disciple of the school of the Convent of Mafra, and they frame two beautiful marble sculptures that represent Saint Ignatius of Loiola and San Francisco Xavier, both works by the Paduan sculptor João Antonio Bellini. In 1740, the same sculptor created the altar of Our Lady of the Good Death, in Carrara marble, which is found in one of the side chapels.

With a spectacular and imposing facade, a single large nave, with grandstand windows and a painted ceiling, the church has the typical characteristics of Jesuit architecture.

In a contiguous building, one can visit the Diocesan Museum of Santarém, which has about 150 items on permanent exhibition, spread over several rooms and spaces, which include the Cathedral and the noble corridor of the Episcopal Palace.