The devotion to the Lord Holy Christ of the Miracles Sanctuary — today one of the most powerful religious expressions in the Azores and among Azorean communities abroad — emerged from centuries-old European devotions to the Passion of Christ and gradually became one of the defining spiritual traditions of Ponta Delgada and the Azorean archipelago itself.

At the center of the devotion stands the iconic wooden image of the “Ecce Homo,” representing Christ after the flagellation, humiliated and presented by Pontius Pilate before the crowd. The life-sized sculpture, known popularly as Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, has been venerated for approximately 330 years inside the Convent of Nossa Senhora da Esperança.

Yet the earliest history of the image remains partially veiled in uncertainty and legend.

According to historical research referenced in recent studies, there is no definitive documentation regarding the sculpture prior to the second half of the 17th century. A 2019 study concluded that the image itself was created during the 1600s, rejecting older popular traditions that attempted to connect it directly to the foundation of São Miguel’s earliest female convents in the 16th century.

Over time, however, the absence of documentation allowed devotion and imagination to intertwine.

One enduring Azorean legend tells of two cloistered young women traveling to Rome to seek papal authorization for the founding of a convent and receiving from the Pope the gifted bust of the “Ecce Homo.” Another version speaks of the miraculous rescue of the image from the sea after a shipwreck, the sculpture supposedly appearing near the rocks following an undocumented maritime disaster. According to the same tradition, the image later accompanied the founding sisters to the Convent of Esperança.

The historically documented consolidation of the devotion begins more clearly in 1683 with Mother Teresa da Anunciada, the nun who would become the central spiritual architect of the cult.

Teresa da Anunciada saw in the image not simply an object of devotion, but a profound representation of Christ’s sacrifice, Passion, and Resurrection. Her role extended far beyond preserving the sculpture materially. She promoted the devotion as a spiritual path of prayer and closeness to God, emphasizing humility before divine mystery rather than a purely miraculous or superstitious cult.

Under her influence, devotion to Senhor Santo Cristo grew rapidly across São Miguel. Stories of miracles, particularly in seemingly impossible situations, circulated among the faithful, strengthening the cult and inspiring waves of offerings from the population — money, labor, jewels, embroidered cloaks, crowns of thorns, scepters, silver ornaments, pearl decorations, and ceremonial adornments that gradually elevated the image into one of the most symbolically rich religious icons in the Azores.

Even after Teresa da Anunciada’s death, the devotion continued expanding beyond the convent walls into public religious life.

The first procession through the streets of Ponta Delgada likely took place around 1698 or 1700. Originally conceived as a spiritual connection between female convents, male religious houses, and the city itself, the procession allowed cloistered nuns to view the image through choir grilles as it passed through the churches before returning to the streets.

Later, amid seismic crises and moments of collective fear, the people themselves requested that the image once again leave the convent so the community could pray publicly for protection and deliverance.

By the 18th century, devotion to Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres had become deeply woven into the civic and spiritual identity of Ponta Delgada. The population formally embraced the image as a collective protector, organizing annual processions that continue to this day and draw thousands of pilgrims and visitors from across the Azores and the global Azorean diaspora.

Over the course of more than three centuries, the devotion has been sustained by generations of caretakers, by the religious communities that succeeded the Order of Saint Clare at the Convent of Esperança, by the Brotherhood of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres — founded in 1765 — and by the diocesan sanctuary formally established in 1959.

Today, somewhere between documented history and sacred legend, the devotion remains one of the strongest symbols of religious identity in the Azores.

The image of the suffering Christ, born from centuries-old Passion devotions, continues to stand at the heart of a celebration that has endured earthquakes, social transformation, migration, and the changing geography of Azorean life itself — gathering thousands every year in Ponta Delgada around a ritual where faith, memory, and island identity remain inseparable

Translated and adapted from a story in Diário dos Açores-Paulo Viveiros, director