Igreja e Hospital da Misericórdia das Velas

The church of Santa Casa da Misericórdia was built on the first half of the 16th century, keeping its old architecture and accommodating the graves of benefactors, such as João Varella, one of its founders.

The construction of the Hospital arises from the testament’s will of Beatriz de Melo, local benefactor, and was completed in 1708. It held male and female rooms, as well as an altar for the patients to attend the mass on Sundays and Holy days, with the invocation of St. Beatriz. Shortly after, the hospital is ransacked by French privateers, who took some founding documents of the Misericórdia.

Santa Casa da Misericórdia acquires the tutelage of the Convent of São Francisco in 1848, after the dissolution of the religious orders in Portugal, transferring the hospital for this location. The church and the hospital are, in turn, yielded to the City Council of Velas, which currently operates as a nursery home.

The current premises were fully refurbished at the end of the 20th century, which inauguration occurred on 19 December 1993, with a capacity to hold about 80 users.