Our Lady of the Conception of Vila Viçosa

Queen and Patroness of Portugal · Vila Viçosa (Alentejo)

In Vila Viçosa, the cradle of the Braganza dynasty, venerates Nossa Senhora da Conceição, proclaimed by King John IV in 1646 "Queen and Patron of Portugal." Since then, the Portuguese kings have not reneged crown: the true Queen is the Immaculate.

Origin and history

The temple, the ancient parent church of Vila Viçosa, dates back to the XIII-XIV centuries and was thoroughly reformed in 1569. According to tradition, Don Nuno Alvares Pereira (San Nuno de Santa María) founded a church to the Immaculate in thanksgiving for the victory of Aljubarrota (1385), and the image would have been acquired in England; these details are transmitted as a devout tradition of probable historical background.

The decisive and documented fact is 1646: after the Restoration of Independence (1640), King John IV, natural of Vila Viçosa, consecrated in Cortes the kingdom to Nossa Senhora da Conceição on March 25, 1646, proclaiming it and crowning it "Queen and Patron of Portugal." He placed his crown at the feet of the image and gave up on it; since then the Portuguese monarchs have not been crowned again. The sanctuary is known as "Solar da Padroeira."

It consists of the Regio and Cortes vote of 1646; it does not contain a pontifical canonical coronation with a specific decree in the modern style: the solemn act was the coronation by the king with the value of national vote.