Marian devotion
Our Lady of the Angels
Where the people of Colón prayed · Santa Maria (Azores)
On Place dos Anjos, on the island of Santa Maria - the first of the Azores populated - an ancient hermitage has a unique memory: here, on the return of its first trip to America in 1493, the crew of Christopher Columbus went down to the ground to give thanks to the Virgin.
Origin and history
The hermitage is a possibly 15th century construction, with reforms in the 17th century; it retains vestiges of the primitive temple, such as a side ojival cover and a portico dedicated to the Holy Spirit. It is one of the oldest places of worship in the Azores.
As documented, upon returning from his first trip to America, Christopher Columbus and his crew, who passed through the Azores in February 1493, went down to the ground in this place and prayed in the hermitage in compliance with a vote made during the storm. A local tradition adds a "miracle of the cross" to the origin of veneration. The hermitage thus unites the Marian devotion of the island to the memory of discoveries.
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