Century XX
The Church was built between 1906 and 1914, replacing the previous one, today called ‘Old Church’. It has a neoclassical style single nave, facing the west, with a curved and tiled façade in shades of blue and white, topped by a bell tower in the centre. A doorway in a bow shape, topped by a rectangular stained glass window, crowned by a clock on the bell floor and onion dome protected by balustrade and vases, finished by a cross on an acroterium. The main door is flanked by two stained-glass windows, each one topped by tile panels representing a fishing scene on the left side, alluding to St. Peter (the fisherman), and St. Bartholomew on the right side, the patron saint.
The altarpieces, the modern high altar in marble and granite, and the polychrome coffered ceiling stand out, where the life of St. Bartholomew is narrated.
Winter, Saturday and Sunday, 09h00-18h00.
Summer, Saturday and Sunday, 09h00- 20h00.
Festivities: August 23 and 24, 08h00-24h00.
St. Bartholomew
St. Bartholomew, the patron saint of Mar, is one of the twelve apostles chosen by Jesus Christ and one of the greatest evangelists of Christianity.
The apostle Bartholomew, after witnessing the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ, left to the lands of the East to evangelize the barbarian peoples of Arabia, India and Armenia, converting many people to Christianity. During his evangelical mission he was persecuted by the governors of these regions, but he persisted in getting Christ’s message across. He ended up martyred and skinned alive. Therefore, he is represented by a knife, symbol of martyrdom, that he holds in his right hand and, a book, symbol of the Gospel, that he holds in his left hand.
Since the 16th century, the parishioners of Mar have held a Feast in honour of their patron saint on the day of his martyrdom. The parish’s feast became very famous over time in the region of Minho, due to a ritual that is part of the feast, the Holy Bath. According to tradition, on this day, seawater has healing powers, especially for children who suffer from some kind of malaise such as stammering, epilepsy and fear. The Holy Bath consists in diving the children three times, or an odd number, into the seawaters to purify their bodies against the abovementioned diseases.
Pilgrimage and the Holy Bath
The Pilgrimage of St. Bartholomew of Mar, celebrated every year on August 24th and documented since the 16th century, is one of the most famous and traditional pilgrimages in Portugal. It is included in the National List of Immaterial Cultural Heritage. The Holy Bath rituals at the sea and the offer of black chickens to the Saint are part of the folklore of the region. Thousands of pilgrims flock to this region. Their procession, with countless figurants and floats, is one of the most majestic in this region.
Legend of St. Bartholomew e a Holy Spring
The ancients say that St. Bartholomew came here from the sea. He was the one who chose this land, and so they named it after the Apostle. It was not like St. James, brought to the Iberian Peninsula by his closest disciples after he died in Jerusalem.
Legend has it that one day, as farmers and seafarers walked along the dunes of Mar, in the catch of the Sargasso, they found an image of St. Bartholomew among the herbs. They were surprised, but seeing the image there, they could not leave it behind. As they had a few houses there to keep the Sargasso and the milled grains, they decided to build one for the saint as well. A very simple small hermitage was erected in his homage to bless their work. The devotion to St. Bartholomew grew so much that the small hermitage could not receive everyone. Thus, they built a church for him, further away from the beach. It is the Old Church of Mar, still existing today. Since they brought the image of the saint to the Church, very good waters sprang up near the church, which are deemed holy and healing waters.
