Christ (chapel)

In the town (vila) of Machico, on the left bank of the stream that runs through it and a short distance from the parish church, stands the old chapel of Cristo (Christ). It is known today as the chapel of the Lord of Miracles (Senhor dos Milagres), and it was also called the chapel of the Misericórdia, because it once belonged to that charitable institution, which had its seat in the town. It is one of the oldest chapels in

Madeira, and some claim that it was the first place of worship built on this island. The legend of Machim, which we shall deal with elsewhere, tells that when the discoverers landed on the beaches of Machico they found the graves of Robert Machin and Anne Arfet, together with a simple epitaph that recounted the adventure of the unhappy lovers and asked that a chapel dedicated to Christ be built on that spot. If we were to believe this romantic legend, the origin of the chapel’s foundation would lie in that ill-fated adventure. In his learned and most interesting notes to ‘Longing for the Homeland’ (Saudades da Terra), Dr Álvaro Rodrigues de Azevedo reduced the Machim affair to its proper proportions, and after this exhaustive study it is no longer permissible to accept the possibility of the legend, as various authors, according to Francisco Manuel de Melo, seek to describe it in poetic terms.

What seems to be established is that on the very day they first set foot on the virgin soil of this island, the discoverers had a makeshift altar put up, and one of the Franciscan friars who sailed in Zarco’s fleet celebrated the sacrifice of the Mass there, in thanksgiving for the important discovery they had just made. The discoverers vowed to build a church on this spot, and this is the true origin of the foundation of the chapel of Cristo. ‘And since,’ says Frutuoso, ‘the first Mass said in this place was that of the Visitation, which falls on 2 July, this church became a house of the Misericórdia’.

Simple and modest as it is, this small church is a true historic monument commemorating the discovery. It must be regarded and venerated as such by the inhabitants of this island, and its preservation through the ages is a sacred and patriotic duty for every Madeiran who cherishes the good name of his homeland.

Of the original building perhaps only the pointed doorway and the crosses on the façade survive, and these form the characteristic part of the little church. The great flash flood (aluvião) of 1803 left it in complete ruin, and in the following year it was almost entirely rebuilt by the brethren of the Misericórdia. Care was taken to preserve its original architectural character, as was also done when it was rebuilt once more about half a century ago.

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Not only was what remained of the original preserved’, says the annotator of the Saudades, ‘but in the new work the old design has also been followed. The portico is the original one, with some new stones carved like the old; the only ornament on them is a row of crosses of the Order of Christ (Ordem de Cristo), which garland the doorway and are incontrovertible proof that the church was built by that Order’. This second rebuilding, however, was only completed in the period from 1880 to 1883, and in that year the solemn blessing of the chapel took place, the building having then been completely restored both inside and out.

The chapel houses the venerated image of the Lord of Miracles, the object of a great pilgrimage held on 9 October, to which thousands of people flock from every part of the island. This revered image was swept away by the torrent in the flash flood of 1803 and carried out to the open sea. There it was found by an American full-rigged ship bound for our port, which took it on board; it was later handed over to Funchal Cathedral (Sé Catedral do Funchal). It remained there until 15 April 1813, when it was taken to its small sanctuary in Machico, which had just then been restored.