The wooden image of Christ, by unknown artist, in a Renaissance-style representation of the Ecce Homo, represents the episode of Jesus of Nazareth's life when the martyred religious figure was presented to the crowd following his whipping, and includes a crown of thorns, uncovered torso and bruised/beaten body.

[citation needed] Normally, this statue and piece of art is on display in the Sanctuary of the Lord Holy Christ, in the Convent of Our Lady of Hope (in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel in the Azores), but annually leads a procession through the streets of the city.

The festivals in honour of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles occur on the fifth Sunday after Easter, the day on which a great procession winds the streets of the provincial capital, and terminating on the Thursday of Ascension.

These events are the most and oldest religious devotions still carried out in Portugal, with the popular feasts at the Sanctuary of the Sovereign Mother, in Loulé, and the 20th century celebrations in honour of Our Lady of Fátima having comparable interest.

[citation needed] The foundations of this cult began in the formation of the Convent of Caloura, which was established by the two daughters of Jorge da Mota, a resident of Vila Franca do Campo, whom had sheltered in the small Vale de Cabaços.

[1][2] Documentation attributes Pope Paul III (1534-1549) with the gift of the image to the religious curia whom visited Rome in order to obtain a pontifical bull to authorize the foundation of the first convent on the island of São Miguel.

[1][2][3] The Convent was founded by Rui Gonçalves da Câmara and his wife Filipa Coutinho, who had stayed with a group of the sisters in Vale de Cabeças after the 1522 Vila Franca earthquake.

[1] Pedro II of Portugal, by regal decree dated 2 September 1700, conceded an annuity of 12,000 réis in order to maintain an olive oil lamp in front of the altar to Senhor Santo Cristo.

The sister organized and institutionalized many of the characteristic rituals of the annual procession, including the first appearance of confeitos (sugar candies) and the ceremonial traditions that have rigidly followed the celebration, with the support and collaboration of the local populous.

[5] At the beginning of the afternoon, on 13 April 1700, the brotherhoods and religious communities gathered at the Convent, along with the nobles and crowd of faithful who believed that Divine intervention would occur at the appearance of the holy image.

[4][5] This act was similar what to the Captain-Donatário and his entourage did in the early years of the procession: the high nobility and members of authority, in their finest clothes, followed or participated in the movement of the image throughout the streets.

[5] Yet, on leaving the Church of the Jesuit College, in the direction of the Convent of Saint Andrew, the holy image (to the wonder and amazement of all) fell outside the grounds, and immediately all seismic activities ceased.

On the Saturday proceeding the procession, many devotees present themselves to the image of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles and make promises to God, at many times on their knees travelling along Campo de São Francisco.

The first procession in honour of the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles occurred through the initiative of Mother Teresa da Anunciada, with the support of the island population, following a series of earthquakes where the nun hoped to obtain divine intervention.

The entrance to this chapel, through the low choir is guarded by a series of azulejo ties, authored by António de Oliveira Bernardes, and dated to 1712, that represented the chapters in the birth (north) and passion of Christ (south).

Due to the emigration of many Azoreans to the United States and Canada, particularly coming from the São Miguel island, the worship and devotion to Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres was expanded and became by holding celebrations and processions in some cities in the Americas.