A home for everyone
The Cathedral of Lisbon is in itself a sacred place, devoted primarily to God and the Church of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. In the middle of the city and of the Diocese, this is per excellence, amongst the other temples, the House of God and the House of the Church.
Soon after the Christian reconquest of Lisbon in 1147, it was decided to erect the Cathedral of the city where the Greater Mosque was, which, in turn, had been built on top of an ancient Visigoth church during Muslim occupation.
The Patriarchal Cathedral is therefore, undoubtedly, a “major reference of the Catholic faith, in the city and in the Diocese, worthy of being esteemed at all times by Catholics and non-Catholics, given its religious, architectural, historical and symbolic value. Subtracted from profane uses by the rite of dedication, and destined to be the dwelling place of God and his Church, a house of prayer and a place favouring the encounter of men and women with God”, as Cardinal António Ribeiro stated in his homily of October 25, 1997.
May you all be very welcome to this house!