Convento dos Cardaes

The Convent of Cardaes was founded in 1681 for the Carmelite Nuns. Its architecture conforms to the seventeenth century and is adapted to the strict Rules of the Carmelites, which limit contact with the world. The exterior is robust and austere but inside there are several decorative treasures.

The nineteenth century will profoundly mark the history of the Convent. After the extinction of the Religious Orders and with the death of the last Carmelite nun in 1876, the Convent was given to the Nossa Senhora Consoladora dos Aflitos Association and an asylum for blind women was installed here, under the direction of the Association and with the help and care of Dominican Sisters.

Today, in the twenty-first century, the Convent of Cardaes continues to receive young women with special needs, who find a home, comfort and family here.

Therefore, by visiting the Cardaes Convent, a Living Convent, you are also helping the community that lives here and contributing to our history being made every day.

There are many reasons to visit this space. The Church with its gilded altars, the nave surrounded by Dutch tile panels. The Convent survived the 1755 earthquake with almost no marks of destruction, and is now a unique architectural complex in the city of Lisbon. The sacred art heritage is rare in its entirety and in the specificity of each piece, all preserved until today, as the Convent never closed its religious activity.