The initiative “Entail of the Month” presents this April the chapel of São Bernardo and the estate of Quinta da Cerca, established by Francisco João Henriques and his wife, Catarina do Amaral Cabral, in Guimarães de Tavares.

Although the chapel was instituted by common will in 1662, only twenty years later the bodies of the founders were placed there. In fact, the founders determined that their bodies would be buried in the main church of Santa Maria das Chãs until they could be transferred to the chapel they wanted to build next to the house where they lived. This chapel was to be dedicated to São Bernardo, the saint of their particular devotion, and was to have an altarpiece with the specific miracle in which Christ throws blood from the wound in his chest. In the middle of the chapel should be the tomb with the respective grave, where their bodies and those of future administrators would be laid to rest. Six masses should be prayed for their souls every year, one on the day of São Bernardo and the rest throughout the year, giving preference to feast days. To fulfill the obligations of the chapel, the respective terças (third part of the inheritance) were named, identifying the immovable assets that should support the charges.

Today, and always owned by the same family, events are held at the Quinta da Cerca, with its privileged position facing the Serra da Estrela. We should add, as a curious note, that Guimarães de Tavares disputes Guimarães do Minho’s privilege of having been the birthplace of Gil Vicente, a famous Portuguese playwright and poet born in the late fifteenth century. The Quinta da Cerca has the “Espaço Gil Vicente” dedicated to the author and his theater, which includes a specific library. It was there that the work by António Fortes, Gil Vicente nasceu em Guimarães de Tavares (Gil Vicente was born in Guimarães de Tavares), was recently launched.