Vila Facaia Church

Category: Religious Architecture > Church

District: Leiria > Pedrógão Grande > Vila Facaia > Casal de Além

Location

The Church of Vila Facaia, also known as the Church of Santa Catarina, is harmoniously integrated into the urban fabric of the locality of Vila Facaia, in the municipality of Pedrógão Grande. It stands on an elevated platform, surrounded by a retaining wall, accessed by diverging flights of stairs that lead to a wide paved churchyard. This layout gives the temple a particular prominence in the village landscape.

Architecture and Exterior

This religious temple, built with Baroque and 19th-century influences, presents a striking silhouette. Its facades, plastered and painted white with a gray-toned plinth, contrast with the granite elements that adorn its lines. The main facade is enhanced by a straight lintel portal with a curved pediment, topped by a large window and a niche housing the image of the patron saint, Saint Catherine. The bell tower, attached to the right side facade, stands out for its verticality, with its pyramidal roof covered in polychrome tiles, where a clock and a rooster-shaped weathervane can be seen. A date inscribed in 1765 on the tower door frame suggests the 18th-century origins of its construction.

The Richness of the Interior

Upon entering, one discovers a single nave, with the interior in white tones. At the top, the high choir with its wooden balustrade, painted blue and brown, invites the gaze to rise. The nave ceiling, in three-tiered wood, is one of the most captivating elements: it is divided into eighteen painted coffers depicting scenes from the life of Saint Catherine. These paintings, dated 1902, are the work of the painter V.S.Bastos. Inside, there is also a limestone baptismal font, in the shape of a basin, and pulpits with wooden canopies. The chancel and side chapels, with their polychrome carved altarpieces, complement the artistic richness of this space, where busts of the four Evangelists also emerge on the chancel ceiling.

License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.pt