As a sign of this devotion, Our Lady of Vendôme features in the coat of arms of Porto.

[1] The devotion to Our Lady of Vendôme has its origins in the period of the Reconquista, and is associated with an historical episode popularly known as the Army of the Gascons (Portuguese: Armada dos Gascões).

Around the year 990, nobleman Munio Viegas led an army of knights from Gascony that had disembarked on the mouth of the Douro River to fight the Moors who at the time ruled Porto.

Munio Viegas and the Gascons are credited with having rebuilt the city walls: the image of Our Lady of Vendôme was placed over one of its main gates, which was christened the Door of Vendôme (Portuguese: Porta de Vandoma).

The Door of Vendôme (which location shifted to the city centre as Porto grew through the centuries) was demolished in 1855.