Category: Religious Architecture > Church
District: Braga > Celorico de Basto > Padim > Carvalho e Basto (Santa Tecla)
Situated in the rural area of Padim, municipality of Celorico de Basto, the Church of Santa Tecla is located in a tranquil environment, surrounded by fields where crops such as corn and vineyards predominate. The site is along the main road of the parish of Carvalho e Basto (Santa Tecla).
The churchyard surrounding the church is walled and features some old olive trees, adding a serene landscape touch to the ensemble. At the rear of the church, it is possible to find some crosses and tomb covers.
The religious building features a longitudinal plan, characteristic of parish churches. It consists of a main nave and a chancel, which is narrower and lower in height. On the north side, a rectangular sacristy is annexed.
The facades of the nave and chancel display granite masonry, while the sacristy is plastered, with stone quoins and mouldings. The main facade has a gable topped by a cornice and a cross at the apex. A lateral bell tower, with two levels and a bell in a full-arch opening, flanks the facade.
The main portal is a simple full arch with a chamfered edge. Above it, a rectangular slit window illuminates the interior. On the lateral facades, the nave has rectangular slit windows. On the right side, there is a full-arch side door, flanked by two slit windows. An exterior stone staircase is visible on the north side, providing access to the choir loft and the bell tower.
Inside, the walls are plastered and painted white. The flooring is wooden in the nave and chancel, with tile in the sacristy. The nave ceiling is a varnished wooden false barrel vault, while the chancel ceiling is also a wooden barrel vault, but painted with an allegory to the Eucharist.
The wooden choir loft, with a balustrade, is accessible by an exterior staircase. There are holy water fonts near the doors, one of them shell-shaped, and a monolithic baptismal font in the sub-choir. The pulpit, with a granite base, has a wooden railing with a balustrade.
The triumphal arch, separating the nave from the chancel, is covered in gilded woodcarving and integrates two side altarpieces (Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Graces). These altarpieces, in the National Baroque style from the early 18th century, feature twisted columns decorated with birds and grapevines, and background panels painted to imitate blue damask, with gilded full-arch frames.
The church houses several carved altarpieces of distinct styles and periods. The main altarpiece, from the second quarter of the 18th century, is in the Joanine Baroque style, with polychrome carving in white and gold. It has a straight structure with three axes defined by elements called "quarteirões" (quarters) with gilded vegetal decoration. Its attic features a cut-out profile and a large valance with "lamberquins" (lambrequins). In the center, a tribune with a blue background and a throne for the Crucified stands out.
In the nave, the side altarpiece of Saint Anthony, from the late 17th century, combines Mannerist elements with the beginning of the National Baroque, visible in the Salomonian columns decorated with birds and grapevines. It features painted side panels depicting Saint Francis and Saint Dominic, and an upper panel with Our Lady of Conception.
The side altarpiece dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, installed in 1918, reveals a Revivalist style with Neoclassical inspiration. It features composite columns with shafts that imitate marble and gilded vegetal decoration.
The construction of the Church of Santa Tecla dates back to 1664, initiated by the then abbot Custódio Pimenta Leite. A historical record from 1726 mentions the existence, in the chancel, of an engraved stone with an inscription that was difficult to read at the time. It is known that this inscription referred to a burial place and mass obligations linked to properties acquired by the founding abbot.
A document from 1758 describes the church with four altars: the main one dedicated to Santa Tecla and the Child God, and collateral altars with the images of Our Lady of the Rosary, Saint Sebastian, and Saint Anthony. Three confraternities linked to some of these invocations were mentioned.
Recently, the church underwent significant rehabilitation works, reflecting the community's care in preserving this heritage.
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt
Coordinates DD: 41.3842721,-8.0486031
Coordinates DMS: 41°23'3.4"N 08°02'55.0"W
Weather Padim
On-duty Pharmacy Padim
