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Monday, April 11, 2011

Visiting the Capuchin Convent - Saint Martin (Sintra)

The Capuchin monastery, located in the Parish of Saint Martin (Sintra) in the Serra de Sintra, was founded by King Alvaro de Castro, son of the Viceroy of India D. John de Castro, in the year 1560.
In this monastery there lived successive communities of Franciscan friars, dedicated to interior work. The first community was composed of eight brothers, being the best known of all Brother Honorius.
Poverty was pushed to the limit in its construction.The convent has a relatively small area and several of their cell doors are lined with cork to the bottom of at all man, so as to induce a genuflection. The decorative elements are also scarce, having been kept to a minimum. In the cafeteria there is a larges lab of stone to serve as a table, offering the Cardinal-King Henry.
With the extinction of monastic orders in 1834, the Franciscan religious community was forced to leave the convent. The space was purchased by Viscount Monserrate and later passed into the possession of the Portuguese State.

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