The Monastery of the Holy Cross ( pt, Mosteiro da Santa Cruz, links=no), also known as the Church of the Holy Cross, is a
National Monument
A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure.
The term may also refer to a spec ...
in
Coimbra
Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of .
The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto, and Bra ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Because the first two kings of Portugal are buried in the church it was granted the status of National Pantheon. Founded in 1131 outside the protecting walls of Coimbra, the Monastery of the Holy Cross was the most important monastic house during the early days of the
Portuguese monarchy
This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution.
Through the nea ...
. Saint
Theotonius founded this community of
Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra
The Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra are a Catholic religious order of canons regular founded in Portugal in the 12th century. The follows the Rule of Saint Augustine.
History
The Canons Regular of the Holy Cross of Coimbra were founde ...
and served as their first
prior
Prior (or prioress) is an ecclesiastical title for a superior in some religious orders. The word is derived from the Latin for "earlier" or "first". Its earlier generic usage referred to any monastic superior. In abbeys, a prior would be l ...
. The monastery and church were erected between 1132 and 1223. The monastery was granted numerous
papal
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bi