Ceremony celebrated by the Bishop of Porto, D. Manuel Linda

Eucharist of the Bom Jesus of Matosinhos

The Bishop of Porto, D. Manuel Linda, presided over the Solemn Eucharist, one of the most important moments of the religious program of the Festivities in honor of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos and which, every year, takes place on the municipal holiday.

Present at the celebration at the Church of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos were the Mayor, Luísa Salgueiro, the Vice-President of the municipality, Carlos Mouta, the Councilor for the Environment, Manuela Álvares, the Councilor for Culture and president of ANCIMA – Associação para a Animation of the City of Matosinhos, Fernando Rocha, the Councilor for Economic Development, Commerce and Tourism, Marta Pontes, the Councilor for Sports, Vasco Pinho, the president of the union of the parishes of Matosinhos and Leça da Palmeira, Paulo Carvalho, among other personalities.

For this celebration, the Church of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos is decorated with natural flowers and its decoration is one of the main attractions of the festivities.

The floral decoration of the main altar and the remaining eight side altars is a work that involves the participation of dozens of volunteers, of all ages and mostly female.

The image of Senhor de Matosinhos, remember, is associated with the legend that gave rise to the pilgrimage.

It was in the year 124 that, according to legend, the waters of the ocean deposited on Matosinhos beach a beautiful image of Jesus on the cross sculpted, a few years earlier, by Nicodemus, a privileged witness of the last moments of Christ's life.

When the image was collected on the beach by the population, it was found, however, that one of the arms was missing. No matter how many arms were ordered by the best craftsmen and carpenters, none of them fitted perfectly on the amputated shoulder or, quite simply, was not similar to the one on the opposite side. Fifty years later, in the year 174, wandering along the beach, a poor woman gathers wood to feed the fireplace. At home, he noticed that a large piece of wood insisted on, miraculously, jumping out of the fire whenever he was thrown into it. The daughter, deaf-mute from birth, spoke for the first time and told her mother that it was the missing arm of the image of the Lord kept in the Monastery of Bouças, a fact that was immediately confirmed. And so began the devotion to the Lord of Matosinhos.