Church of Saint Anthony
By the Cathedral, the church built where tradition says Saint Anthony was born, with its crypt and the saint's "true likeness".
Church of Saint Anthony of Lisbon
A few steps from the Cathedral, the Church of Saint Anthony stands, according to tradition, on the spot where Lisbon's most popular saint, a Doctor of the Church and secondary patron of the city, was born. The earliest records of the chapel date from the early fifteenth century, but Lisbon's city council sat in the House of Saint Anthony from 1326 to 1753, and the building is still municipal property today. King João II had it rebuilt in 1495 and King João V granted it its own collegiate chapter in 1730. Destroyed by the 1755 earthquake, which spared only the chancel, the present church was built between 1767 and 1812 to a design by Mateus Vicente de Oliveira, with the help of the people of Lisbon, whose children begged in the streets for "a penny for Saint Anthony". A fan-shaped flight of steps leads up to the façade, more ornate than those of other Pombaline churches. Inside, filled with light from the dome over the crossing, the highlights are the polychrome wooden statue of the saint that survived the earthquake, the canvas known as the "true likeness", paintings by Pedro Alexandrino de Carvalho and Bruno José do Vale, and the crypt marking the birthplace, visited by Pope John Paul II in 1982. The museum devoted to the saint is next door.
Located at: Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa
Address: Largo de Santo António da Sé, 1100-499 Lisboa
Opening hours: open daily; Mass at 11:00 and 17:00 (visiting hours not published by the church)
Phone: +351 218 869 145
Coordinates: 38.7099754, -9.1336994
Buses: 737, 10B, 711, 746, 759, 783, 736, 760, 728, 732
Tram: 12E, 28E, 15E, 25E
Metro: Terreiro do Paço (Blue), Baixa-Chiado (Blue, Green)
Train: Sintra Line, Rossio Station
Boat: Terreiro do Paço River Station
Opened: 1767 (259 years)
.jpg){kind=link}