Convent of Penha

Espírito Santo · Brazil · Monastery

At the clifftop convent high above Vila Velha, the pious friar Pedro Palácios, who founded the sanctuary in the 1550s, still makes his rounds.

The Convento da Penha crowns a 154-metre cliff above Vila Velha, with dizzying views over the Atlantic. The convent was founded in the 1550s by the Portuguese Franciscan friar Pedro Palácios, after an image of the Virgin he had brought with him, according to legend, miraculously moved itself again and again to the top of the rock – a sign of where the sanctuary should be built. Ever since, pilgrims and staff have said the pious friar never left his work: a figure in a Franciscan habit is seen walking the cloisters and the mountain path, gentle and serene, as if still watching over Brazil's oldest Marian shrine.

FAQ

Where is Convent of Penha located?

Convent of Penha is in Espírito Santo, Brazil.

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• Dom Bosco Hermitage Distrito Federal · Church
• Solar do Unhão Bahia · Manor
• José de Alencar Theatre Ceará · Theatre
• Colônia Psychiatric Hospital (Museum of Madness) Minas Gerais · Hospital
• Meeting of the Rivers (Cabeça de Cuia) Piauí · Natural site
• Gavião Cemetery Maranhão · Cemetery
• Maison Blanche Building Paraná · Urban site

Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Joalpe · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons