The Church of Nossa Senhora do Rosário ( pt, Igreja Paroquial de Lajes das Flores/Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário) is an 18th-century

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

located in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Lajes in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Lajes das Flores Lajes das Flores () is a municipality in the western part of the Azores; it includes the southern part of the island of Flores. To the north, where it is bordered by Santa Cruz das Flores. The population in 2021 was 1,408, in an area of . Its mun ...

, in the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

island of Flores, in the archipelago of the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

History

In 1515, Lajes was elevated to the status of town. Sometime in the 16th century, the Hermitage of Espírito Santo (''Divine Holy Spirit'') which was located near the port was moved to the town, owing to a similar temple in the port. On 25 July 1587, the primitive parochial church of Lajes, situated in the location occupied by the municipal cemetery was burned-down by English privateers, that landed five ships whose troops sacked the town and surrounding countryside. By 1717, the parish included only 300 homes. Between 1763 and 1783, the actual church was raised on the site occupied by the Hermitage of Espírito Santo. By 1800, there were 486 inhabitants comprising 75 homes and the parochial church within the town limits. Its vicar received a stipend of 7 bushels of wheat, 4 alqueires of wheat and 8$000

réis The first official currency of Brazil was the real (pronounced ; pl. ''réis''), with the symbol Rs$. As the currency of the Portuguese empire, it was in use in Brazil from the earliest days of the colonial period, and remained in use until 1942 ...

to support his services to the community. In the middle of the 19th century, the church was renovated, followed by embellishments in the 1880s. At the beginning of the 20th century, the lateral retables were installed (1908), executed by the Florentinos António de Maurício de Fraga and Francisco José Pimentel. It would be another few decades before these retables were guided by the Micaelense artisan António Jacinto Carreiro (in the 1960s).

Architecture

The church is located in the centre of the town, situated within a group of builds of the historic town, that include the Municipal Palace/Hall, the old Naval Radio-Telegraphic Station of Flores, as well as a short distance from the lighthouse of Lajes. It occupies a level courtyard and garden limited by minor wall. The rectangular building has a principal facade that integrates two large, rectangular bell towers, long single-nave and auxiliary annexes that correspond to the sacristy.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * {{citation , editor=Câmara Municipal , title=Revista Municipal , issue=3 , publisher=Câmara Municipal das Lajes das Flores , year=1997 , language=Portuguese Nossa Senhora Rosario Church Nossa Senhora Rosario