Church of Menino de Deus

Panels in the Chancel of the Church of Menino de Deus

The World Monuments Fund Portugal restoration project for the two panels of the Chancel: "St. Francis giving up his clothes" by Vieira Lusitano and that of "St. Joseph and the death of St. Francis " by André Rubira, was finished at the end of 2001, having taken about a year to complete.

The people of Lisbon and everybody else can now appreciate these two magnificent examples of baroque painting. The World Monuments Fund Portugal depended on the much needed financial contribution by the Guincho Club, to whom, once again, we express our deep gratitude.

At the beginning of the 18th century, the hospital founded by the Third Order of S. Francisco de Xabregas, at the base of the hill on which the Castle of S. Jorge stands, became known as the Menino de Deus, because a nun from the Convent of the Madre de Deus gave an image of Menino de Deus that everybody though it was miraculous. The Royal Palace heard the story of the miracle and a few months before the birth of his first heir to the throne, King John V, built a large church which would be the first of many beautiful buildings of his reign, later to include the Convent of Mafra. The King laid the first stone on July 4th 1711.

The Church was consecrated on March 30th and 31st 1737, and although the building's façade remained incomplete, there are similarities with other buildings in the mannerism style, such as St. Vincent.

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