Century XVIII
In this same place, there was another temple, dating from the beginning of the 17th century, of which there are still important remains, namely the emblazoned grave of Paulo Carneiro de Figueiredo (1626), one of the founders.
The construction of the present sanctuary – typical of pilgrimage temples – started in the first years of 1700, fitting in the artistic movement of the “Chão” style. The main façade faces north; on the south side, there is a tower provided with gargoyles and crowned with pinnacles, and on the main door, a broken pediment, topped by an ellipsoidal rosette. This temple was cherished and benefited by the Portuguese royal family, namely King Luís I, who became Perpetual Judge, Patron and Defender of the temple. The Portuguese royal coat of arms was placed on its façade. The interior is in the shape of a Latin cross with stone vaults. On the high altar is the miraculous figure of Our Lord of the Steps, locally referred to as “Lord of Fão”
Winter: Daily, 10h00-18h00.
Summer: Daily, 10h00-19h00
Festivities: Weekend following Easter (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), 09h00-24h00.
Good Jesus of Fão
The Sanctuary is dedicated to Jesus Christ, Son of God, with a contextualized invocation in the various ‘steps’ of the Passion of Christ, between his arrest on the Mount of Olives and his Crucifixion on Golgotha. The devotion is well rooted in the official and popular worship of the Catholic Church after the Council of Trent (16th century). The invocation of Good Jesus is common to other sanctuaries in the Diocese of Braga, but iconography does not always represent the same moment of the Passion. The image of Good Jesus of Fão, as Christ on the Cross, is associated with a legend regarding the miraculous value of images that used to appear on the beaches or banks of a river, in this case the Cávado river. An image without one hand was recovered amidst the timber gathered on the beach by a woman who intended to burn it, but it did not burn miraculously. This extraordinary event has attributed miraculous powers to the sanctuary’s image since the 18th century. An iconography of the Christ who carries the cross, condemned and bound, towards the final sacrifice of the crucifixion, the Lord of the Steps, protector and companion of the pilgrims who seek Him there, devotees, in a common Via Crucis. The iconographic closeness and visualization of the Saviour’s suffering, related to the flagellation of the Christ carrying the cross or His crucifixion, has marked the devotional history of our sanctuaries and the emotional world of popular devotion.
