Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Póvoa de Varzim

It is located in Largo das Dores square, in the old town of Póvoa de Varzim, and is part of the parish of Matriz.

[1] The change in dedication occurred on July 24 1768 when the archbishop authorized a group of Latin Grammar students from a school in the square near the church to place the icon of Our Lady of Sorrows in the chapel.

It has a large and elegant tower that is seen from great distance at sea," and "it serves as a reference to seafarers when docking at the beach.

[1] In the first half of the 20th century, at a time when the chapel did not even have a Sunday Mass, the Priest José Cascão assisted in making it an active Marian center.

[3] The festival is one of the most popular in Póvoa de Varzim and in Northern Portugal, and includes a pottery fair (Feira da Louça).

[3] Alexandrina of Balazar (30 March 1904 – 13 October 1955), declared "Blessed by Pope John Paul II and seen as a saint by the people, said in her memoirs that when she went to the countryside with other girls, she ran from them and picked flowers that she later used to make flower carpets to the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Work ended a century later, in 1880, when the gilded altarpiece designed by Manuel Alves Couto was installed.

In 1805 an architect from Porto, Joaquim da Costa Lima e Sampaio, suggested a single central tower.

[1] In the interior of the church the azulejos (glazed tile panels) in the main chapel are notable and were placed in the 1870s.