St. Francis Church in Porto

The Church of St. Francis is one of the most beautiful monuments of religious architecture in Portugal, one of the oldest churches in Porto, and one of the most visited tourist attractions (together with the cathedral and the Clerigos Church). Located in the city center on the banks of the Douro River, it offers a view of an incredibly fabulous landscape.

Built in the middle of the 13th century, the shrine was destined to have an ill fate, as had been its patron saint, St. Francis of Assisi. The construction of this small church in the modest Gothic style had lasted about two centuries until it became an adornment of the Porto historic center. But the Church of St. Francis got its luxurious Baroque look and lavish decorations of gilded wooden carvings only in the 18th century. At the same time, its interior was adorned with solemn altars. They are still considered the best in all of Portugal.

Nowadays, the only part preserved from the original church is an elegant Gothic rose window on the main facade. Everything else in its exterior is a vivid example of the Portuguese Baroque with an abundance of stucco moldings, two-tiered Solomonic columns and, of course, a statue of St. Francis of Assisi, carved from solid granite. The rule of the Arab Caliphate on the territory of modern Portugal left its mark on the church. Some of its elements are made in the popular Islamic Mudejar style.

The church interior is no less striking, with its rare church relics and priceless works of sacred art. It includes the magnificent work of talented woodcarvers Antonio Gomes and Filipe da Silva that depicts the Tree of Jesse (1718). It portrays the ancestors of Jesus Christ starting from the father of the legendary King David, the twelve kings of Judah, connected by branches of the family tree and led by St. Joseph under the image of the Mother of God with the Child Jesus. The side niches next to the tree are occupied by the statues of Mary's parents, St. Joachim and St. Anne, as well as four Franciscans who described the Immaculate Conception.