Igreja de São Roque

A sixteenth-century Jesuit church in Lisbon, home to the celebrated Chapel of Saint John the Baptist.

On the edge of Bairro Alto, the Igreja de São Roque is one of the most surprising churches of Lisbon: a plain facade opening onto a lavish interior, where gilded chapels shine alongside azulejos and one of the most celebrated chapels in Europe. It was built by the Jesuits and belongs today to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia.

History and character

The church was built in the sixteenth century, one of the first Jesuit churches in Portugal, and it survived the earthquake of 1755 almost unharmed. After the expulsion of the Jesuits, it passed to the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa, which kept it and enriched it — above all with the Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, built in Rome and assembled here in the eighteenth century.

What to see

The Chapel of Saint John the Baptist, with its rare marbles and mosaic panels.
The gilded side chapels and the painted ceiling of the nave.
The azulejo panels and the old sacristy.
The Sacred Art Museum of the Misericórdia, in the former Jesuit rooms.

Visiting

The church is at Largo Trindade Coelho, between Bairro Alto and Chiado, reached on foot from the centre. It remains an active place of worship: visitors are welcome outside the hours of Mass, and the museum keeps its own schedule and ticket.