We sat as close to the front pews as possible. It was our first time to enter Ingreja de Nossa Senhora da Lapa. The church, also known as Ingreja da Lapa (Church of Our Lady of Lapa), is located in Porto, Portugal.

It was a time to be thankful. We spent a whole day of traveling going to Porto, Portugal and had to go through the ordeal of almost missing our connecting flight from Madrid-Barajas Airport. To top it, we had to spend time at Porto Airport to retrieve a valuable item left behind on the plane seat.

Ingreja da Lapa was built in the 1800s by The Brotherhood of Our Lady of Lapa. It was built with a Rococo and Neoclassical styles. The church Then became a part of a larger historical complex that included a cemetery, hospital, and a primary school. A pipe organ was installed in the 1990s to accompany church services and is considered as the finest in the Iberian peninsula.

King Pedro IV, also known as Emperor Pedro I of Brazil, had his dying wish fulfilled. His heart was given to the church as his way of thanking his citizens for the support during the Liberal Wars. It is kept secured in an urn within a monument of the church’s main chapel.

We sat and admired the interior of the church while waiting for the service to start. Our experience, now included in our list of experiences, marks our first time to hear a Sunday mass in Portuguese.

Random photographs of our travels. Memories found and captured in a photograph.