Lisbon Cathedral
| Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa (Portuguese) |
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Façade of Lisbon Cathedral
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Geographic coordinates | 38°42′35.46″N 9°07′58.74″W / 38.7098500°N 9.1329833°WCoordinates: 38°42′35.46″N 9°07′58.74″W / 38.7098500°N 9.1329833°W |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | cathedral |
| Leadership | D. Manuel Clemente |
| Website | www |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Romanesque, Gothic, Baroque |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | W |
| Length | 90 metres (300 ft) |
| Width | 40 metres (130 ft) |
| Height (max) | 12 metres (39 ft) |
| Official name: Sé de Lisboa | |
| Designated | 10 January 1907 |
| Reference no. | PT031106520004 |
The Lisbon Cathedral (Portuguese: Santa Maria Maior de Lisboa or Sé de Lisboa; Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major) is a Roman Catholic church located in Lisbon, Portugal. The oldest church in the city is the see of the Archdiocese of Lisbon. Since the beginning of the construction of the cathedral, in the year 1147, the building has been modified several times and survived many earthquakes. It is nowadays a mix of different architectural styles. It has been classified as a National Monument since 1910.
Lisbon has been the seat of a bishopric since the 4th century AD (see Patriarch of Lisbon). After the period of Visigothic domination the city was conquered by the Moors and stayed under Arab control from the 8th to the 12th century, although Christians were allowed to live in Lisbon and its surroundings. In the year 1147, the city was reconquered by an army composed of Portuguese soldiers led by King Afonso Henriques and North European crusaders taking part on the Second Crusade (see Siege of Lisbon). An English crusader named Gilbert of Hastings was placed as bishop, and a new cathedral was built on the site of the main mosque of Lisbon.
This first building was completed between 1147 and the first decades of the 13th century in Late Romanesque style. At that time the relics of St Vincent of Saragossa, patron saint of Lisbon, were brought to the cathedral from Southern Portugal. In the end of the 13th century King Dinis of Portugal built a Gothic cloister, and his successor Afonso IV of Portugal had the main chapel converted into a royal pantheon in Gothic style for him and his family. In 1498, Queen Eleanor of Viseu founded the Irmandade de Invocação a Nossa Senhora da Misericórdia de Lisboa (English: Brotherhood of Invocation to Our Lady of Mercy of Lisbon ) in one of the chapels of the cloister of the cathedral. This brotherhood evolved into the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, a Catholic charitable institution that later spread to other cities and had a very important role in Portugal and its colonies.
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