Santo Cristo dos Milagres in São Miguel Island, Azores: the miraculous ideology that drives the core of the faithful

Once again, the tradition is fulfilled.
Today, the streets of Ponta Delgada are filled with faithful devotees taking part in the biggest festivities in the Azores archipelago, the Festivities in Honor of the Santo Cristo dos Milagres.
The celebrations, which take place on the fifth Sunday of Easter and end on Ascension Thursday, welcome back many faithful who left in search of better opportunities and who return to their homeland.
Carpets of flowers embellish the streets through which the procession of Ecce Homo, who once again honors us with his presence, will pass.
The Coro Bajo is transformed into a flower garden, and the Shrine of Hope is visited by countless faithful people who, during these days, try to visualize and give thanks for the prayers granted by the Lord.
Whether accompanied by candles or walking through Campo de São Francisco on their knees or barefoot, the truth is that the fervor of the people of São Miguel for their miraculous belief in the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres marks the daily lives of Azoreans and is passed down from generation to generation.

The concept of “Miracle” acquired by the image

Packed with legends and stories about his appearance in the archipelago, the truth is that the fable surrounding the image of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres is what makes the religious myth fascinating.
This is largely due to the oral narratives passed down over the centuries, which amplified the aura of mystery surrounding the magnificent image.
The fervor of the people of São Miguel for the miraculous belief in Ecce Homo “is still present today, in times of strong secularization of society, as a constitutive identity mark of Azoreanity, alongside the feasts of the Holy Spirit”(1). In this context, “the invocation, the cult, and the Feast are appropriated by the Azoreans as identity factors, as marks of belonging to a community, a society, to the Autonomous Region of the Azores”(2).
To understand the true meaning of the veneration of Santo Cristo dos Milagres, one must travel back in time.
It is inseparable from saying that we venerate the Lord without mentioning the figure of Mother Teresa of the Annunciation, who, upon entering the Monastery of Esperança on November 19, 1681, and discovering the image, adopted a deep reverence and devotion to it, dedicating her entire life to it.

Mother Teresa da Anunciada became the first janitor of the Senhor Santo Cristo with the mission of preserving, caring for, and embellishing the image. She fulfilled this role until her death on May 16, 1738.
However, it wasn’t until the 18th century that veneration of the Lord moved beyond the religious brotherhood and took root in the Azorean community.
On December 16, 1713, when a penitential procession took place to ask God to end the seismic crisis shaking the island, Senhor Santo Cristo acquired the epithet “miraculous.” During this procession, the image fell, and the seismic activity ceased simultaneously.
From this moment on, the once-forgotten image acquired the denotation of “Miracles,” a denomination it has perpetuated to this day.
Mother Teresa da Anunciada’s adoration of the figure of Ecce Homo was felt in her actions and dedication, leading to the construction of a chapel in 1697 that was worthy of “her Fidalgo.”
However, this work did not please the nun, and in 1702, new work began on a second chapel, with the support of the Counts of Ribeira Grande, the great patrons of many of the jewels that currently adorn the image of Senhor Santo Cristo. With this new construction, the image of the Lord became more prominent and visible to the faithful (3), thus increasing the cult surrounding it.
The truth is that the image’s tenacity is very evident in the homes of many families on the island.
The fervor for the Ecce Homo is experienced through the presence of replicas of it, usually decorated with small altars. According to Hugo Moreira, these “handmade representations are an expression of the religiosity of the Azorean people”(4), and their proliferation quickly spread to other forms of depiction, such as rosaries, medals, and prints.

The belief surrounding the “miracles” of the cloaks (capes) of the Santo Cristo Statue

Once given the denomination of “Miracles,” the belief in the figure of the suffering lord took hold in the imagination of the Azorean people, particularly from the island of São Miguel.
In addition to its unique beauty and singularity, the image, carved in wood as a reliquary representing the Lord after being scourged, holds a magnificent collection.
Of the pieces accompanying the Lord on his “journey”, only the “reliquary” is a single piece, while the splendor, crown, scepter, rope and cape have two or more copies. They all result from the faithful’s devotion to the Image at different times.” (5)
Classified as a Regional Treasure since 2015 by the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Azores, the entire estate that makes up the magnitude and wealth surrounding the image is equivalent to the incorporeal value that the faith of the devotees holds in it, thus making it of incalculable value.
And it is in this doctrine of veneration that the countless stories associated with the “graces” granted by the lord stand out, the so-called miracles alluding to the use of the Ecce Homo cloaks.
The cloaks used to cover the bust of the reliquary are all “made of natural silk, brocade, embroidered in gold and with a greater or lesser number of inlaid jewels”(6). Most of them come from offerings made by faithful devotees in gratitude for the blessings they have received.

These offerings are an “exchange between human beings and divine beings, in which the believer promises to make a previously specified offering if the divine being responds by favoring him in a specific way.”(7)
And it is in the sentiments of “supplication, gift and grace”8 that “there is the custom deeply rooted in the popular tradition of Micaelense of using a cloak of Santo Cristo to request healing for the sick.”(9)
The first record of the use of the Lord’s cloak comes from a manuscript that exists in the Convent of Esperança, where it is reported that “the Count of Ribeira Grande, faced with an illness, requested the cloak of the Image to be imposed on him.”(10)
This belief has prevailed for many decades and has spanned centuries since “the faithful believe that by placing the cloak of the Lord on their shoulders they can be healed.”(11)
The countless requests for the cloak of the Lord Santo Cristo dos Milagres for healing purposes were the motto of the Shrine, which was to have several cloaks made exclusively for the imposition of the sick. These are “red in color and simple in their adornments”(12) and “smaller in size than the cloaks of the Image”(13). The set also includes “two smaller white cloaks, expressly for children and adolescents.”(14)
Requests for them were made “by family members or friends”(15), and the reasons for such requests were based on the faith of the faithful who believed that by placing the cloak of the divinity of the Santo Cristo “on their shoulders”(16) they could not only be healed but also feel the Lord’s strength. (17)
As a result of this belief, there were numerous “reports of successive cures attributed to the imposition of the cloak”.(18)
The spread of these miracles has helped to ensure that the faith surrounding the cloaks continues to feed the “imagination and devotion to the Image and everything associated with it.”(19)
The need for the Shrine to hold a large number of covers is a reflection of the “scope of the phenomenon and its social and religious impact.” (20)

The “Relics” unallocated to the cloaks of the “Santo Cristo dos Milagres”

In addition to the enormous significance of the cloaks, it is also important to highlight the existence of the so-called “Relics”.
The tiny pieces of red cloth the Shrine gave us come from the unused cloaks of the Lord Saint Christ of Miracles, which are in great disrepair.
However, these “pieces of cloth do not fit the traditional definition of a relic”(21). They are framed as such because “the cloak is, or has been, in contact with a sacralized image”(22), resembling souvenirs brought back from a shrine.
The truth is that these little “Relics,” in the eyes of the faithful, are not only a way of being protected but also an extension of the devotional aspect of the Ecce Homo cloak (cape).

Despite people’s use of these “Relics,” they are not currently associated with cases of healing, although they “function as an extension of the devotional aspect of the cloak”(23).In short, the devotion shown by the Azoreans to the divinity of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres crosses borders. Today, the expectation of seeing the Lord, who died crucified for the sins of humanity, is enormous, and despite the pain and suffering that some of his faithful may carry on this day, they do not fail to honor him with their presence.

in Diário dos Açores, Osvald Cabral-director

Bibliografia:
SOARES, Hélio Nuno: Os promotores de uma devoção no séc. XVIII: o Senhor Santo Cristo de Ponta Delgada. Revista da FLUP. Porto. IV Série. Vol. 12 nº 1. 2022. 85-106
SOARES, Hélio Nuno, O Mosteiro de Nossa Senhora da Esperança de Ponta Delgada: uma proposta de valorização patrimonial em diálogo com a comunidade. Dissertação de Mestrado. Ponta Delgada, Universidade dos Açores, 2018
SOARES, Hélio Nuno Santos, “A função terapêutica da capa da Imagem do Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres”. In Boletim do Instituto Histórico da Ilha Terceira. Angra do Heroísmo, Instituto Histórico da Ilha Terceira, vol. 75, 2017, p. 245-286.
ENES, Maria Fernanda, “A invocação e o culto do Senhor Santo Cristo em Ponta Delgada – São Miguel”. In MARQUES, Cátia Teles e, Coord., Cultura – Revista de História e Teoria das Ideias. Lisboa, Universidade Nova de Lisboa: Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, vol. 27, 2010, p. 211-226. Disponível em: http://cultura.revues.org/347
ROSA, Ana Catarina. 2023. “Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres: O mito e a Fé que sustentam a crença açoriana”, Diário dos Açores. 14 de Maio

1ENES: 2010, 212
2Ibidem
3SOARES: 2018, 94
4SOARES: 2017, 244
5Idem:245
6ENES: 222
7SOARES: 2017, 250
8Idem: 251
9Ibidem
10Ibidem
11Ibidem
12Idem: 251
13Ibidem
14Ibidem
15Idem: 252
16Ibidem
17Ibidem
18Ibidem
19Ibidem
20Ibidem
21Idem: 257
22Ibidem
23Idem: 258

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)

Through the Facebook page, the Mayor of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Nascimento Cabral, has provided a few more images of the event this Sunday, May 5th. Pictures by Hugo Moreira.