This beautiful church in downtown Lisbon, dedicated to St Mary Magdalene, has many attributes – among which is that it holds Masses in English.
The church’s history of destruction and architectural rescue stands as a living symbol of spiritual restoration, and how ecclesiastical buildings so often tell the story of a city better than any historical source.
The original church was built in the mid-12th century and the Madalena has suffered much. It was rebuilt by Ferdinand I after a major fire in 1363; in 1600 it was damaged by a cyclone. Maria I rebuilt it again in 1783 after its destruction in the famous Lisbon earthquake of 1755.
