Shrine of Our Lady of Africa
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The Church of Santa María de África is a
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
church in the
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
city of
Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...
which is located in a small Spanish
exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...
on the north coast of
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.


History

The history of the church goes back to a picture sent by
Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...
. He said that he thought the picture holy and he named it as ''Santa Maria in Africa''. The first hard evidence of the church date from 1676 when it is mentioned in building work and then again in 1697. Under Bishop Don Martin de Barcia the church was internally decorated with paintings and both bells and the altarpiece were installed. We know that Barcia was still Bishop when the church was consecrated on 5 August 1752. The altarpiece is decorated with a large sculpture of Mary with Christ which is traditionally carved from a single piece of wood.


Legend

(while King
John I of Portugal John I ( pt, João uˈɐ̃w̃ 11 April 1357 – 14 August 1433), also called John of Aviz, was King of Portugal from 1385 until his death in 1433. He is recognized chiefly for his role in Portugal's victory in a succession war with Casti ...
was canvassing for governors after capturing ceuta in 1415, a young
Pedro de Menezes, 1st Count of Vila Real Pedro de Menezes Portocarrero, (1370 – Ceuta, September 22, 1437) was a 15th-century Portuguese nobleman and military figure. Pedro de Menezes (sometimes modernized as 'de Meneses') was the 2nd Count of Viana do Alentejo, 1st. Count of Vila ...
was nearby, distractedly playing ''choca'' (a kind of Medieval hockey) with a stick of ''zambujeiro'' or Aleo (wild olive tree) from
Alcoutim Alcoutim () is a town and a municipality in southeastern Portugal near the Portugal–Spain border. The population in 2011 was 2,917, in an area of 575.36 km². It is the least densely populated municipality in Portugal. The municipality is ...
. Hearing all the high nobles making excuses to avoid the job, the young Pedro de Menezes stepped forward and approached the king with his gaming stick (''aleo'') in hand and told him that, with only that stick, he could defend Ceuta from all the power of Morocco."Eu só com este páu, sou capaz de defender Ceuta, de todo o poder dos mouros", as reported in ''Portugal antigo e moderno'', 1878
p.495
Another recitation of the legend places it a little later, c. 1418, when Pedro de Menezes was visiting Lisbon. He was playing ''truque'' (a type of
shuffleboard Shuffleboard (more precisely deck shuffleboard, and also known as floor shuffleboard) is a game in which players use cues to push weighted discs, sending them gliding down a narrow court, with the purpose of having them come to rest within a ma ...
) in the king's court, when a messenger arrived with the news that the Marinids were assembling an army to retake Ceuta. The king ordered Pedro de Menezes (who was already governor of Ceuta) to return immediately to Ceuta, and promised that he (the king) would do what he could to dispatch reinforcements. D. Pedro de Menezes held up his shuffleboard stick and told the king not to hurry the reinforcements, that he could fend off the might of Morocco with that stick alone. See Z.N. Gonçalves Brandão, 1883, ''Monumentos e lendas de Santarem ''
p.514
/ref> As a result of this story, all future Portuguese governors of Ceuta would be presented with a ''zambujeiro'' staff as a symbol of their office upon their investiture.) The aleo that was used by Pedro is kept in the Church, the statue af Mary holds the aleo. Pedro de Menezes was originally buried in the cathedral of Ceuta (a converted
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
), but his remains were later translated by his daughter to the Augustinian monastery church of Igreja da Graça in
Santarém, Portugal Santarém () is a city and municipality located in the district of Santarém in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 58 671,excluding the parish Pombalinho, that changed from the municipality of Santarém to Golegã in 2013 in an area of 552.54&nb ...
. His remains are still found there, in an effigy tomb alongside his third wife, Brites Coutinho. The Menezes tomb is decorated with carved wild olive tree branches, and repeatedly embossed with the word ''aleo'', a reference to the gaming stick which Pedro de Menezes made famous. The same motif and slogan, "aleu", is found in the coat of arms of the town of
Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality covers ...
, the seat of Pedro de Menezes's fief, it is also found on the coat of arms of the town of
Alcoutim Alcoutim () is a town and a municipality in southeastern Portugal near the Portugal–Spain border. The population in 2011 was 2,917, in an area of 575.36 km². It is the least densely populated municipality in Portugal. The municipality is ...
, where Pedro's descendants were later made Count's of Alcoutim.


References


External link

{{coord, 35, 53, 8.28, N, 5, 19, 46.55, W, type:landmark_region:ES_dim:47, display=title Churches in Ceuta 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain