Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo (Lagoa)

The Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is found in the Municipality of Lagoa in the Algarve, Portugal.^[1]

Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel

History

Founded in 1550 by Pedro Fernando, scribe of the household of Catherine of Austria, Queen of Portugal, the Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was built about one kilometer to the east-southeast of Lagoa, in the Algarve. For many years it was a house of the Discalced Carmelites, but when certain monasteries were closed by the order, the Carmelites also abandoned this site, which then passed into private hands.

The Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was in ruins after the 1755 Earthquake, but was restored some years later by its owners, the Cabrita family. Later private masses came to be celebrated in the chapel of the convent, along with the celebration of an an annual festival (with procession) in honour of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the patroness of the Carmelite Order.

The convent is now abandoned and in a state of ruin. Although the Estrada Nacional 125, one of the most important highways of the Algarve, passes by its door, there is little to inform the tourist of the existence of this monument, an exceptional piece of sacred Portuguese architecture.

See also

• Carmelites of the Ancient Observance
• Discalced Carmelites
• Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
• Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites

References

1. ^ This page is based on the related page in the Portuguese Wikipedia.