Our Lady of Lapa Sanctuary

The history of Lapa begins in 1493 with the appearance of the image of Our Lady under a lapa, brought there by religious fleeing the Moorish general Al Mansor. The cave where the image was discovered has a very narrow stone through which, according to tradition, everyone passes except those who have committed a serious sin. The legend took on national proportions and soon the first buildings were erected on the site. A few years later, under the guidance of the Jesuits, the current church was built and completed in 1635, on the exact spot where Joana the Shepherdess discovered the image of Our Lady. The College, where illustrious people such as the writer Aquilino Ribeiro entered in 1895 to study grammar, Latin, logic and morals, began to be built at the end of the 16th century and is one of the Jesuits' greatest works in Lapa, functioning today as the Sanctuary's guesthouse. Lapa's importance was also recognized by the crown, which in 1740 granted it the status of a town, which it kept for 145 years. Lapa is now a Village of Portugal. There are three major pilgrimages to Sra. da Lapa: on June 10, August 15 and the first Sunday in September. These pilgrimages are preceded by novenas, which act as an open retreat and are very popular. Lapa is rich in flavors. Bread and cheese are centuries-old local foods that have survived to the present day as exquisite delicacies and symbols of Lapa's identity. Legend of the Shepherdess Joana Joana was the mute twelve-year-old shepherdess who, while guarding a small flock of sheep, spotted an image of Our Lady in the crevices of a crag or lapa. The story goes that Joana approached the image and, ecstatic, remained in prayer for a long time. The little shepherdess then noticed that the image's vestments had been destroyed by the weather and damp and decided to erect a little altar there. She cleaned the image, placed flowers around it and never stopped thinking about her "treasure". The next day, Joana took the image home in the basket her mother sent her lunch in. Her mother, who didn't appreciate Joana wasting time making dresses for her "doll", threw it into the fire. Desperate, Joana, mute from birth, shouted at her mother: "Yes! My mother! It's Our Lady of Lapa! What have you done? Legend has it that the image didn't burn, but at that precise moment her mother's arm was paralyzed. Repenting of the act she had just committed, she prayed with Joana and everything returned to normal. The parish priest, who knew the story, asked for the image to be placed in the parish church so that it wouldn't remain in the wilderness, but the image disappeared from there and appeared in the cave where Joana had discovered it. That's where she wanted to be venerated, they say.