Chiesa di São Roque
Lisbon
The church of São Roque is one of the first Jesuit churches in Portugal, opened in 1573. Inside it keeps the chapel of Saint John the Baptist, made in Rome.
A church against the plague
In the early 1500s Lisbon was struck by the plague. King Manuel I had a relic of Saint Roch, protector of the sick, brought from Venice.
In the 1500s the Society of Jesus built its church here. It has a single nave with eight side chapels: a model for many Portuguese Jesuit churches.
What to look at
The wooden ceiling is painted in perspective, to look higher than it really is. The walls are rich with carved and gilded wood, marble and azulejos, the painted tiles.
One side chapel is dedicated to Saint Francis Xavier, the Jesuit who set off for India. The paintings tell the story of his departure.
The chapel that travelled by sea
In 1742 King João V ordered the chapel of Saint John the Baptist. It was designed by the Roman architects Luigi Vanvitelli and Nicola Salvi.
It was built in Rome with gilded bronze, precious stones and inlays. Then it was shipped to Lisbon and set up where the chapel of the Holy Spirit once stood.
The museum
Next to the church, in the old Jesuit house, is the São Roque Museum. It keeps the treasure of the chapel of Saint John the Baptist and Portuguese and Italian works of art.
