It is called Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Misericórdias (the name could not be more appropriate), it was officially inaugurated on April 18th and was created to be «at the service of Boliqueime».
It is within the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Boliqueime complex that this new Algarve religious space is built. Despite already being operational, the official inauguration only took place months later and was attended by the Bishop of Algarve.
D. Manuel Neto Quintas, who presided over the Eucharist, referring to the new church, called it a “generous space”. «I was immediately pleased with the space when I visited it in its various phases».
«I also want to give my testimony here of the great importance of the Misericórdias in the Algarve», considered the bishop, at a mass in which he was accompanied by Father Pedro Manuel, parish priest of Boliqueime and Ferreiras.
This new chapel has a history of ups and downs.
The idea, as Sílvia Sebastião, current provider, highlighted, was born «in the previous direction». However, «due to lack of funds, it was not possible to complete the works».
When the new management of Misericórdia de Boliqueime took office, it asked the Loulé City Council for help, which accepted “and allowed the project to be completed”.
«The building was finished, but the benches, the religious images, the bell were missing», the provider told journalists.
When everything seemed in order and the church was ready… the pandemic came. «Activities began in March 2020, but Covid-19 blocked those two years».
Furthermore, this is a Santa Casa da Misericórdia that is well aware of the impact of the pandemic on its facilities. It was there that, in April 2020, there was the first outbreak of Covid-19 in an Algarve home.
Having overcome the health issues, Sílvia Sebastião says that the fact that «we went through moments of great difficulty» made the day of the inauguration of the new chapel «even happier».
Currently, mass is celebrated every Thursday in that chapel, which is also used for funerals. Furthermore, it is in the new space that Father Pedro Manuel meets with couples who are getting married or baptizing a child.
For Sílvia Sebastião, the new chapel is of “very great” importance, because it also allows “to continue the cultivation of faith and Christianity”.
«We can bring our users to Mass more closely and that was something they asked of us. Before, we only had a small chapel», he stressed.
The work cost a total of around 1,5 million euros.
Photos: Pedro Lemos | Sul Informação
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