Algarve - The Church of Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe
 
 
 
Between the villages of Budens and Raposeira, on the main road from Lagos to Sagres, there is an isolated Church, dedicated to Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe.
The Church dates from the 13th century and one says it is built by the Knights Templars.
When King Afonso XI of Castile and King Afonso IV of Portugal fought together against the Moors in the Battle of Salado (1340), the former invoked Nossa Senhora de Guadalupe. Thus, the cult made its way into Portugal. A cult, that started in 1320 in Caceres, Spain, where a shepherd discovered, next to the river Rio Guadalupe, an image of the Black Virgin , thought to have been made by St. Luke.
Henry the Navigator , who owned the region, regularly attended Mass at the Church.
Between the 15th and 17th Century, the Church became an important pilgrimage site, particularly benefitting to navigators and mariners. The Black Virgin, along with St Luke is the patron saint of sailors and prisoners of war.

Open to public: tuesday-friday from 9am to 12.30pm and 2pm to 5pm.