Vila Chã de Braciosa is a parish in the municipality of

Miranda do Douro Miranda do Douro () or Miranda de l Douro in Mirandese () is a city and a municipality in the district of Bragança, northeastern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 7,482, in an area of 487.18 km². The town proper had a population of 1,9 ...

, Portugal, which is located 15 kilometres south of Miranda do Douro proper, directly on the Portugal-Spain border. The population in 2011 was 327,Instituto Nacional de Estatística
/ref> in an area of 42.94 km².Áreas das freguesias, concelhos, distritos e país
/ref> It consists of the villages Vila Chã, Freixiosa and Fonte de Aldeia. Fonte de Aldeia was first recorded in the ''Torre do Tombo'' register in 1528.

History and traditions

Fonte de Aldeia was home to a wealthy religious order, which also had possessions in neighbouring Castile. Each

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ...

offered a certain quantity of cereals, which was deposited in a barn (that still exists) to serve as a loan to families in need. In addition to the twelve annual

Holy Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

es which are still held today in memorial of the souls of the dead friars, there is also one single grand church service with a large number of priests for the same purpose.

References

Freguesias of Miranda do Douro {{Bragança-geo-stub