Century XVIII
The mother church was rebuilt between 1736/38, at its current location. Over the years, it has been subjected to renovation that has given it a neoclassical style.
The temple is well dimensioned, with a rectangular shape, and a façade facing west. The main façade bears a square-shaped portal with a smooth triangular tympanum. A polylobe-shaped oculus is featured over the portal, in which the curved tympanum opens a niche with the image of the patron saint, St. Michael, in granite. A trilobe-shaped cross, based on acroterium, completes the decoration of the façade, flanked by pinnacles at the angles of the gable roof of the building.
A three-tier bell tower is attached to the façade, on the north flank, and is covered with a beautiful onion dome made of stone.
Winter, Saturday, 12h00-18h30
Summer, daily, 09h00-18h00
St. Michael
The parish of Gemeses has the Archangel St. Michael as its patron saint, together with Apúlia and Marinhas. Not only the Christian liturgy and worship that celebrate the archangels and the power of these spirits close to divine purity, but both Judaism and Islam venerate the archangels and their role in the defence of God’s light and the battle for good. St. Michael also represents repentance and divine justice, thus justifying its central presence in the iconography of wayside shrines or on the alms’ altars in Christian temples.
The Christian imagery has built a world of war or dispute between the principles of good and evil, in which the Devil is a party to affirming his dominion. If at first what was at stake was the good associated with God, and evil being the denial of the divine, over time this denial was personified by Lucifer, a demon. Given the omnipotence of God and His holiness, the battle between good and evil took place between the armies of the angels of God, led by St. Michael, and the army of fallen angels, led by Lucifer.
The invocation and devotion of St Michael the Archangel and his status as Patron Saint is one of the most unique expressions of popular piety, made official by the Church, in its adherence and affirmation of good against evil, an ever-present reality and a great threat to the life and happiness of worshippers.
