The Church of Santa Engrácia (, ) is a 17th-century monument in
Lisbon
Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
,
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
. Originally a church, it was converted into the National Pantheon (''Panteão Nacional'', ), in which important Portuguese personalities are buried. It is located in the
Alfama neighbourhood, close to another important Lisbon monument, the
Monastery of São Vicente de Fora.
History
The current building of the Church of Santa Engrácia substituted previous churches dedicated to a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
of the city of
Braga
Braga (; ) is a cities of Portugal, city and a Municipalities of Portugal, municipality, capital of the northwestern Portugal, Portuguese Braga (district), district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality ...
,
Saint Engratia
Engratia (, ) is venerated as a virgin martyr and saint. Tradition states that she was martyred with eighteen companions in 303 AD.
History
Although her martyrdom is traditionally placed around 303 during the Diocletianic Persecution, more rec ...
. The first church dedicated to the Saint was sponsored by Infanta
Maria of Portugal, Duchess of Viseu, daughter of
King Manuel I
Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate (), was King of Portugal from 1495 to 1521. A member of the House of Aviz, Manuel was Duke of Beja and Viseu prior to succeeding his cousin, John II of Portugal, as monarch. Manue ...
, around 1568. In 1681, construction of the current church began after previous structures collapsed. The design was the work of
João Antunes, royal architect and one of the most important
baroque
The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
architects in Portugal.
Construction proceeded from 1682 through 1712, when the architect died.
King John V lost interest in the project, concentrating his resources in the gigantic
Convent of Mafra. The church was not completed until the 20th century, so that ''obras de Santa Engrácia'' (literally ''works of Saint Engratia'') has become a Portuguese synonym for an endless construction project. A
dome
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
was added, and the church was reinaugurated in 1966.
Architecture
João Antunes prepared an ingenious design for Santa Engrácia, never before attempted in Portugal. The church has a centralised
floorplan
In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to Scale (ratio), scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a struct ...
, with a
Greek cross
The Christian cross, with or without a figure of Jesus, Christ included, is the main religious symbol of Christianity. A cross with a figure of Christ affixed to it is termed a crucifix and the figure is often referred to as the ''corpus'' (La ...
shape. On each corner there is a square tower (the pinnacles were never completed), and the façades are undulated like in the baroque designs of
Borromini. The main façade has an entrance hall (
galilee
Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ).
''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...
) and three niches with statues. The entrance to the church is done through a beautiful baroque portal with the
coat-of-arms
A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achiev ...
of Portugal held by two angels. The Church has a high central dome which was completed only in the 20th century.
The harmonious interior of the church is dominated by the curved spaces of the central
crossing and naves. The floor and walls are decorated with baroque, polychromed patterns of marble. The magnificent 18th-century baroque organ was brought from
Lisbon Cathedral
The Cathedral of Saint Mary Major ( or ''Sé-Catedral Metropolitana Patriarcal de Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa''), often called Lisbon Cathedral or simply the Sé ('), is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Lisbon, Portugal. It is the oldest ch ...
.
National Pantheon
In 1916, during the
First Portuguese Republic
The First Portuguese Republic (; officially: ''República Portuguesa'', Portuguese Republic) spans a complex 16-year period in the history of Portugal, between the end of the History of Portugal (1834-1910), period of constitutional monarchy ma ...
, the Church of Santa Engrácia was converted into a National Pantheon. It was completed only in 1966, during the government of the dictator
António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...
. There was much speculation that it was completed for the eventual death of Salazar and other high ranking
Estado Novo officials, but this was proven false when he died in 1970 and his wishes were revealed to be buried in his hometown of
Vimieiro near
Santa Comba Dão
Santa Comba Dão () is a city and a municipality in the Viseu District in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 11,597, in an area of 111.95 km2. The city proper has a population of 3,300.
The present mayor is Leonel Gouveia, elected in 2013 ...
, which was carried out. Besides Oscar Carmona, no other Estado Novo officials were entombed there.
The personalities entombed here include the Presidents of the Republic
Manuel de Arriaga,
Teófilo Braga,
Sidónio Pais
Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais (1 May 1872 – 14 December 1918) nicknamed "the President-King" (), was the 4th president of Portugal, serving in 1918. A Portuguese people, Portuguese politician, Officer (armed forces), militar ...
and
Óscar Carmona
António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona (November 24, 1869April 18, 1951) was the 11th president of Portugal, serving from 1926 until his death in 1951. A Portuguese army officer and politician he previously served as prime minister of Portugal from ...
; presidential candidate
Humberto Delgado; writers
João de Deus,
Almeida Garrett
João Baptista da Silva Leitão de Almeida Garrett, 1st Viscount of Almeida Garrett (; 4 February 1799 – 9 December 1854) was a Portuguese poet, orator, playwright, novelist, journalist, politician, and a peer of the realm. A major promoter ...
,
Guerra Junqueiro
Abílio Manuel Guerra Junqueiro (, 17 September 1850 – 7 July 1923) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese top civil servant, member of the Portuguese House of Representatives, journalist, author, and poet. His work helped inspire the creation of ...
,
Aquilino Ribeiro,
Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and
Eça de Queiroz; fado singer
Amália Rodrigues
Amália da Piedade Rebordão Rodrigues (23 July 1920 – 6 October 1999), known as simply Amália Rodrigues () or popularly as Amália, was a Portuguese fado singer (''fadista'').
Dubbed ''Rainha do Fado'' ("Queen of Fado"), she was instrumen ...
; and footballer
Eusébio
Eusébio da Silva Ferreira (; 25 January 1942 – 5 January 2014), nicknamed the "Black Panther", the "Black Pearl" or "O Rei" ("The King"), was a Portuguese Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Stri ...
. There are
cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...
s to
Luís de Camões
Luís Vaz de Camões (; or 1525 – 10 June 1580), sometimes rendered in English as Camoens or Camoëns ( ), is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of William Shakes ...
,
Pedro Álvares Cabral
Pedro Álvares Cabral (; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; ) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in history to ever be on four continents, ...
,
Afonso de Albuquerque
Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and ''conquistador''. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across ...
,
Nuno Álvares Pereira
'' Dom'' Nuno Álvares Pereira, OCarm (; 24 June 1360 – 1 November 1431) was a very successful Portuguese general who had a decisive role in the 1383–1385 Crisis that assured Portugal's independence from Castile. He later became a my ...
,
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea.
Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
,
Henry the Navigator
Princy Henry of Portugal, Duke of Viseu ( Portuguese: ''Infante Dom Henrique''; 4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator (), was a Portuguese prince and a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese ...
and
Aristides de Sousa Mendes.
References
* ''José Fernandes Pereira''. Arquitectura Barroca em Portugal. Instituto de Cultura e Língua Portuguesa. 1986.
Portuguese Institute for Architectural HeritageGeneral Bureau for National Buildings and Monuments(Portugal)
External links
*The National Pantheon o
Google Arts & Culture
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church Of Santa Engracia
Buildings and structures completed in 1966
Roman Catholic churches in Lisbon
Mausoleums in Portugal
National cemeteries
Church buildings with domes
Tourist attractions in Lisbon
National monuments in Lisbon District