The day is gorgeous, and here we are in the heart of the city and it’s in the heart, whatever it is, that we like to be…so we decided to stay!
Now you can come and visit us in Clérigos church store! We are more beautiful and all teed up to receive you with the pomp and circumstance that a monument of this caliber requires …
We also found out that we are a little baroque and the spirit of Nasoni is still here …!
“… The word baroque should be understood as synonymous with extravagant, irregular, exaggerated, preposterous. For specialists, the Baroque is the art of contrasts where pain and joy are mixed; it celebrates the life and death; placed side by side magnificence and horror, Baroque is the collective manifestation, the exaltation of glory, sensorial apotheosis … ”
Famous by its high tower and with which it forms a very important architectural ensemble in the city of Porto, Clérigos Church is a baroque building designed by architect Nicolau Nasoni.
The history of Clérigos Church dates back to the Brotherhood of Clerics, which resulted from the merger of three charities: Confraternity of Poor Clerics of Our Lady of Mercy, founded in 1630, the Brotherhood of São Filipe Nery, founded in 1665 and finally, the Confraternity of the Clerics of St. Peter.
They were created in the city during the seventeenth century, in order to help priests in difficulty. The new entity would soon be joining capital, but lacked a home or a church of their own, as before the institution worked in the Church of Mercy of Porto. It is precisely the May 31, 1731 that a general meeting is held, chaired by D. Jerónimo Távora e Noronha, main patron of Nasoni, in order to decide the proposal of building a new church for the Brotherhood of Clerics .
For the construction of the new temple, the Brotherhood would accept a donation of a wasteland perched on a sidewalk that was located between Fonte da Arca and Adro dos Enforcados (land outside the old Fernandine Wall, where were buried the sentenced criminals on the gallows and the dying out of religion).
Due to the construction of the new church and tower of Clérigos, that churchyard was moved to another place, next to Hospital de Santo António grounds. It was also named a commission of four brothers to administrate that work. The proposals for the patron saint of the church were three: Senhora do Socorro, Senhora das Necessidades e Senhora da Assunção. They chose the last one.
The first stone of the church is launched on June 23, 1732, in the presence of the architect Nicolau Nasoni, playing all the bells of different churches in the city at the same time to celebrate that fact. The works began to follow a good pace, but after some time were totally stopped.
The reason was probably due to various intrigues moved by the priest of the Church of Santo Ildefonso, concerned about the competition that the new church would create. The expulsion of the master mason António Pereira, that pastor ally and its replacement by Miguel Francisco da Silva did not greatly alter the status of the works. In 1745, a survey, did not approve the foundations of the front part of the church and then it was decided that everything should be redone to the greatness that that kind of work was worth.
The July 28, 1748, even without the building was fully completed, the church was opened for worship. Only two years later the main facade would be ready. The construction of the staircase leading up to the church began in 1750 and its works would take about four years. Completed the church, the brotherhood began to think about the need to build an hospital ward to help and heal the sick and poor brothers, but those works only begin in 1753 with the donation of another land that was behind the church.
Because of the radical changes and expansion that was targeted in relation to the original project, the main chapel had to be completely rebuilt. Between 1767 and 1773 they proceeded to that reconstruction of the chapel, followed by other small arrangements and the works were fully completed in 1779, with the consecration of the church on 12th December of that year, by the bishop of Porto D. Frei João Rafael de Mendonça.
Nasoni was buried in this church which is a remarkable example of the synthesis of Baroque architecture and rocaille from the north of Portugal.
The year 2013 marked the 250th anniversary of the Torre dos Clérigos classified as a national monument since 1910 and one of the ex-libris of Porto.
Igreja dos Clérigos
Now you can come and visit us in Clérigos church store! We are more beautiful and all teed up to receive you with the pomp and circumstance that a monument of this caliber requires …
We also found out that we are a little baroque and the spirit of Nasoni is still here …!
“… The word baroque should be understood as synonymous with extravagant, irregular, exaggerated, preposterous. For specialists, the Baroque is the art of contrasts where pain and joy are mixed; it celebrates the life and death; placed side by side magnificence and horror, Baroque is the collective manifestation, the exaltation of glory, sensorial apotheosis … ”
Famous by its high tower and with which it forms a very important architectural ensemble in the city of Porto, Clérigos Church is a baroque building designed by architect Nicolau Nasoni.
The history of Clérigos Church dates back to the Brotherhood of Clerics, which resulted from the merger of three charities: Confraternity of Poor Clerics of Our Lady of Mercy, founded in 1630, the Brotherhood of São Filipe Nery, founded in 1665 and finally, the Confraternity of the Clerics of St. Peter.
They were created in the city during the seventeenth century, in order to help priests in difficulty. The new entity would soon be joining capital, but lacked a home or a church of their own, as before the institution worked in the Church of Mercy of Porto. It is precisely the May 31, 1731 that a general meeting is held, chaired by D. Jerónimo Távora e Noronha, main patron of Nasoni, in order to decide the proposal of building a new church for the Brotherhood of Clerics .
For the construction of the new temple, the Brotherhood would accept a donation of a wasteland perched on a sidewalk that was located between Fonte da Arca and Adro dos Enforcados (land outside the old Fernandine Wall, where were buried the sentenced criminals on the gallows and the dying out of religion).
Due to the construction of the new church and tower of Clérigos, that churchyard was moved to another place, next to Hospital de Santo António grounds. It was also named a commission of four brothers to administrate that work. The proposals for the patron saint of the church were three: Senhora do Socorro, Senhora das Necessidades e Senhora da Assunção. They chose the last one.
The first stone of the church is launched on June 23, 1732, in the presence of the architect Nicolau Nasoni, playing all the bells of different churches in the city at the same time to celebrate that fact. The works began to follow a good pace, but after some time were totally stopped.
The reason was probably due to various intrigues moved by the priest of the Church of Santo Ildefonso, concerned about the competition that the new church would create. The expulsion of the master mason António Pereira, that pastor ally and its replacement by Miguel Francisco da Silva did not greatly alter the status of the works. In 1745, a survey, did not approve the foundations of the front part of the church and then it was decided that everything should be redone to the greatness that that kind of work was worth.
The July 28, 1748, even without the building was fully completed, the church was opened for worship. Only two years later the main facade would be ready. The construction of the staircase leading up to the church began in 1750 and its works would take about four years. Completed the church, the brotherhood began to think about the need to build an hospital ward to help and heal the sick and poor brothers, but those works only begin in 1753 with the donation of another land that was behind the church.
Because of the radical changes and expansion that was targeted in relation to the original project, the main chapel had to be completely rebuilt. Between 1767 and 1773 they proceeded to that reconstruction of the chapel, followed by other small arrangements and the works were fully completed in 1779, with the consecration of the church on 12th December of that year, by the bishop of Porto D. Frei João Rafael de Mendonça.
Nasoni was buried in this church which is a remarkable example of the synthesis of Baroque architecture and rocaille from the north of Portugal.
The year 2013 marked the 250th anniversary of the Torre dos Clérigos classified as a national monument since 1910 and one of the ex-libris of Porto.