Erected in the 16th century, at the behest of the University of Coimbra, which since 1542 had the patronage of “Sam Salvador de Bouças”, the current church of Matosinhos came to replace an old and ruined temple hitherto existing, a few hundred meters away, in the place of Bouças - place where, in the Middle Ages, there was a monastery. The construction work of the new temple, Renaissance, was delivered, in 1559, to a famous imaginary / architect of that time: João de Ruão. The initial term foreseen for the construction was four years. It took twenty! And in the final phase of the building, between 1576 and 1579, another famous artist of the time, Tomé Velho, joined João de Ruão. Although the dimensions of the church have not changed significantly, very little remains of that initial temple. In fact, and with the exception of the columns that divide the three naves internally, today we are not able to observe many traces of that first era. In fact, the church was profoundly altered in the 18th century. Not only did the chancel undergo profound changes in the first two decades of that century, but the rest of the building's body would be significantly altered, starting in 1743, by the Italian architect Nicolau Nasoni who significantly raised the side walls and produced a totally Baroque facade new, undeniable scenic impact. During the 18th century, the interior of the church was covered, in a significant way, by gilded wood carving in the Baroque style, housing some of the best masterpieces of this art in our country. The conclusion of the work was celebrated with great festivities that lasted three days, preceded by a grand procession with the image to the place of Espinheiro, where three blessings were thrown into the sea, returning to the temple. This large temple, with three naves, is surrounded by a vast churchyard (wooded and meshed enclosure) that surrounds it and isolates it from the surrounding areas, thus giving it an air of retreat and welcoming for entering the sacred sphere. In this churchyard six chapels are built, all connected to the events of the Passion of Jesus Christ. Each of them represents a scene with human figures in natural size: The Agony in the Garden, The Prison of Jesus, The Flagellation, The Praetorium, The Ecce Homo and Jesus fallen under the weight of the Cross.