Church of Our Lady of Guia

The Church of Nossa Senhora da Guia, attached to the São Francisco building, is an example of what George Kubler called the plain style, a Portuguese architectural style marked by austerity of form.
It stands on roughly the same site as a small chapel built in the 15th century, with the same patron saint, by Captain Afonso Gonçalves de Antona Baldaia, one of the first settlers on the island. A lieutenant of Álvaro Martins Homem, he accompanied him when he took possession of the Captaincy of Praia in 1474, donating the house to the first Franciscan friars who came here, and the chapel became a convent church.
J.H. Van Linschoten’s letter already shows a building that was remodeled and added on to in the 16th century. Some archaeological remains found in the foundations and other structures of the current building suggest that it has Manueline characteristics.
Built between 1666 and 1672, the temple, which now exists, has three naves: the central one, which ends in the chancel; the one on the Gospel side, which ends in the access door to the antechristy; and the one on the Epistle side, which leads to the chapel currently called the Third Order and which was originally the “grocery store” established by André Gomes in 1522.
In the sacristy, which was opened to the public in 2018 after restoration work carried out by technicians from the Regional Directorate for Culture’s Material and Intangible Heritage and Archaeology Division, we should highlight, in addition to a gilded and polychrome carved coffered ceiling centered with the coat of arms of Saint Francis, a magnificent rosewood chest, attributed to Master Manoel de Almeyda (c. 1745), featuring a crucifix with an ivory Christ of Indo-Portuguese origin and four arm-relics. Also noteworthy is a fountain, dating from 1722, with high relief work in stone, flanked by Solomonic columns.
Above the galilee and part of the central nave is the high choir, the walls of which are covered with a rich paneling of tiles from the first half of the 18th century, the composition of the respective designs consisting of elements of Franciscan hagiography made in a Lisbon workshop.
Next to the choir is an organ, dated 1788 and number 22, the oldest in the Azores, by António Xavier Machado Cerveira, one of Portugal’s greatest master organ builders.

Gustaaf van Manen Residence
It should be noted that the Angra do Heroísmo Museum is hosting the artistic residency of Dutch organist Gustaaf van Manen as part of the Domingos com Música musical cycle.

This partnership allows visitors to experience the magnificent sound of this historic organ.