Over a century ago, the village of Fátima in central Portugal was a rustic enclave devoted to sheep herding. Today, it’s a major Catholic pilgrimage site. The Santuário de Fátima, built where visions and miracles purportedly took place in 1917, attracted 9.4 million visitors in its centenary year.
Portugal: Santarém – The Monastery of Christ
About the Convent of Christ
The convent sits atop a hill overlooking the town of Tomar and sits within the walls of the castle.
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, commonly known as the Knights Templar, was a French military order of the Catholic faith, and one of the wealthiest and most popular military orders in Western Christianity. They were founded c. 1119 to defend pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem, with their headquarters located there on the Temple Mount, and existed for nearly two centuries during the Middle Ages.
Officially endorsed by the Roman Catholic Church the Templars became a favoured charity throughout Christendom and grew rapidly in membership and power. The Templar knights, in their distinctive white mantles with a red cross, were among the most skilled fighting units of the Crusades.
The Templars were closely tied to the Crusades. As they became unable to secure their holdings in the Holy Land, support for the order faded. Rumours about the Templars’ secret initiation ceremony created distrust, and King Philip IV of France, while being deeply in debt to the order, used this distrust to take advantage of the situation. In 1307, he pressured Pope Clement V to have many of the order’s members in France arrested, tortured into giving false confessions, and then burned at the stake. Under further pressure, Pope Clement V disbanded the order in 1312. However, King Denis I of Portugal cleverly transformed the disbanded order into a new organization known as the Order of Christ. This allowed him to appropriate their wealth and maintain control over Tomar’s castle and convent.
Rumours abound about the Knight’s Templars and the whereabouts of the Holy Grail. Treasure hunters or Holy Grail hunters find in Tomar a fascinating place where clues might be hidden in plain sight. Although everybody talks about their hidden treasures nobody talks about their influence on the Age of Discoveries. In 1417, King John I of Portugal made a request to the Pope, that Prince Henry the Navigator become the order’s Grand Master. This request was granted. Henry was responsible for the early development of Portuguese exploration and maritime trade with other continents through the systematic exploration of Western Africa, the islands of the Atlantic Ocean, and the search for new routes. The Order of Christ played an important role in these explorations.
The order was secularized in 1789 and dissolved in 1910. It was revived in 1917 within the Portuguese Republic, headed by the President of Portugal, as a decoration in recognition of outstanding services to the state. So, the Templars are still alive and kicking today!
Within the convent, there are eight cloisters, a great hall, a church, chapels and several courtyards. It is large! There is no set route through the convent, so it is a bit hit-and-miss when it comes to seeing everything.
These are the highlights from our visit to the Convent of Christ.
The Washing Cloister
The Washing Cloister (Claustro da Lavagem) was built in 1423 as a 2 story gothic cloister. As the name indicates, that’s where the monks did their laundry.
The Cemetary Cloister
The Cemetery Cloister is a Gothic cloister at the Convent of Christ in Tomar, Portugal that was built in the 15th century during the reign of Henry the Navigator. It was used as a burial site for the monks and knights of the Order and served religious purposes. The cloister contains the tomb of Diogo da Gama, the brother of Vasco da Gama.
Around this cloister are some side chapels that are worth checking out.
The Chapel of Antonio Portocarreiro, his wife and children was built in 1626. The walls are covered in Azulejo tiles.
The old Chapter House was transformed into the new sacristy in the 16th century. I found the ceiling particularly fascinating.
Prince Henry’s Quarters
Now in ruins, Prince Henry’s Quarters were built throughout 1420-1460. Prince Henry was the Administrator and Governor of the Order of Christ.
The Church
The Round Church or Charola was built in 1190 and was centred on a rare octagonal altar with eight pillars of Romanesque design and based on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, where the Knights Templar spread across the Holy Land and Europe.
The Charola was the foundational building of a convent that became the largest of its kind in Portugal. Legend has it that the Knights Templar—wearing their signature white tunics with a crimson cross on the chest—attended mass there on horseback.
During the first half of the 15th century, Prince Henry had a nave added to the Round Church and he updated the rotunda. In 1499, King Manuel I started to decorate the church walls from ceiling to floor with Manueline paintings and wooden statues. Later, Manuel I had the nave rebuilt in the Manueline style,
The Main Cloister
The cloister with multiple names is the King John III, Royal or Main Cloister, built in two phases during the 16th century outside the castle’s walls. During the reign of King John III of Portugal (1502-1557), the religious friars adhered to a stricter hermetic life. The king conceived the cloister and employed João de Castilho (1470-1552), among the most esteemed Portuguese architects, to design and build it. When Portugal was under Spanish rule for 60 years, King Philip II of Spain, also named King Philip I of Portugal (1527-1598), completed the construction.
Among the Main Cloister’s features are twisting stairs and a fountain that received water from the convent’s aqueduct, one of the final structures built at the castle.
The Cloister of St Barbara
Built in the 16th century. The Chapter House Window and the West façade of the manueline nave of the church are visible from this cloister.
Life in the Convent of Christ
The main living quarters at the Covent of Christ were in the dormitories. There are 40 cells in a T-shaped layout.
Meals were served in the refectory on long tables – no privacy here!
Access to water was a big issue, especially in a country like Portugal with its hot, dry summers. To make sure water was readily available for drinking and washing cisterns were installed. You can visit one of these during your visit to the Convent of Christ. While the purpose of the cistern is functional the space is still architecturally interesting.
Planning your visit to Monastery of Convent of Christ
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Getting to Monastery of Convent of Christ
By Car
You can follow the A1 motorway from Lisbon until exit A23 towards Abrantes/C. lo Branco/T.res Novas. Continue on the A23 and follow the N110 towards Tomar and the Convent of Christ. The drive from Lisbon to the Tomar Convent of Christ takes around 1 hour and 50 minutes. There is a paid parking lot next to the Castle in Tomar. Please note there are toll roads on the motorway to Tomar. You can avoid them, but your travel time will significantly increase.
The drive from Porto takes just over 2 hours, and you can easily follow the A1 towards Lisbon. Then, take exit 11 to the A13-1 towards Codeixa/Tomar/Lousã. Exit 19 will take you to the IC9 and the N110 to Tomar.
By Train
From Santa Apolonia train station in Lisbon, there are regular trains to Tomar.
The journey by train takes around 1 hour and 45 minutes. From Porto, the train takes anywhere between 4 to 6 hours to Tomar. Therefore, a car or bus might be faster when travelling from Porto.
By Bus
Take a direct bus from Lisbon to Tomar with Rede Expressos. It will get you there in one hour and 45 minutes. From Sete Rios bus terminal (metro’s blue line), buses to Tomar depart from 7am onwards. However, schedules may not always be very convenient for tourists.
The best time to visit to Monastery of Convent of Christ
The best time to visit Tomar Castle and the Convent of Christ is during spring or autumn when the weather is mild, and the tourist crowds are smaller.
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