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The festivities of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres take place on São Miguel Island on the fifth Sunday after Easter and are the largest religious celebration in the entire archipelago.
Check the festival program here
The origins of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres date back to the early settlement of São Miguel Island and Vila Franca do Campo, where a major earthquake occurred in 1522. The nobleman Jorge da Mota and his daughters hid from the terrible event on one of their estates.
One of his daughters, Petronilha da Mota, did not care about wealth and dedicated her life to religion. Isabel Afonso, from Braga, arrived on São Miguel Island and became a close friend of Petronilha. Both chose a life of penance and devotion to prayer and faith, later adopting the names Maria de Jesus and Maria dos Anjos. They eventually secluded themselves in the chapel of Santa Clara in Ponta Delgada.
This became the destiny of the two nuns as they felt guided by divine hands. Over time, other people joined the church, giving greater importance to faith, such as Jorge da Mota’s youngest daughter, Ana de São Miguel. In a small house, six nuns lived with great difficulty but also with great devotion.
Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança
The Sisters of the Immaculate Mary occupied the convent, succeeding the Congregation of Saint Joseph of Cluny. This was the first convent of nuns in Ponta Delgada. Today, this convent features significant improvements such as decorations on the church ceiling and the famous tiles found in the lower choir.
There are works by painter Manuel Pinheiro Moreira, among other attractions.
Legend of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres
The story of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres began in Água de Pau, São Miguel Island, at the Caloura Convent. The people of Água de Pau were somewhat distant from religion and faith, so the nuns at the time prayed for the population to regain their faith and love for the Lord.
They believed that the presence of a new religious image in that Convent would lead to a revival of faith. They wrote a letter to the Pope, asking for the image they so desired but could not afford. Their request was not granted.
However, they did not give up and continued to pray for a change in the population and for a religious image.
Later, during a time when pirates roamed the Azorean seas, a ship was attacked and completely destroyed by corsairs. On that day, the nuns observed a glowing box near the coast. They went to check what had washed ashore and found a bust of Christ with a lifelike gaze and humble expression inside the box.
