Asilo dos Velhinhos

It was founded in August 1900, due to the efforts of the late diocesan prelate D. Manuel Agostinho Barreto and Father Antonio José de Macedo. It was initially located in a building on Calçada do Socorro, but as this building could not accommodate more than forty elderly people, the asylum was moved to a large house on Rua das Hortas, where it still stands.

The Asilo dos Velhinhos initially housed twenty-five poor individuals, but by 1910 it had seventy-five residents, twenty-five male and fifty female. The services of the house were carried out by six nuns, two Portuguese and four foreigners, who were assisted by some of the more vigorous residents.

After the expulsion of the Little Sisters of the Poor following the proclamation of the Republic, the General Board decided to take over the funding of the Asilo, and its services are now provided by employees paid by the same corporation.

The furniture found in the Asilo in 1910 was all sold at public auction, with part of it being acquired by the General Board, which gave it the same use it had before.