Perched on the top of the hill of the same name and situated at an altitude of 572 metres, the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro is one of the most visited places of Marian worship in Portugal, offering a privileged view over the city of Braga. Every year it attracts many devotees, especially during the pilgrimages on the first Sunday of June and the last third of August.

It was founded by Martinho Silva, a priest of the Archdiocese of Braga, who promoted Marian worship here from the 1960s onwards. Built over several decades, the religious complex includes, among other elements, the enclosure for mass, the House of Impressions, the Rector’s House, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, the main church, the crypt and the wide monumental staircase, at the top of which are the monuments to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to Our Lady of the Conception.

On the main altar you can admire the silver tabernacle and the image of the patron saint, made in Rome by the sculptor Eugenio Maccagnani and brought to the site in 1880. Throughout the 20th century, the sanctuary has been enriched with works of art that bear witness to different aesthetic and religious sensibilities: in the crypt there is a set of tile panels designed by Querubim Lapa; in the presbytery a large panel by Óscar Casares was painted between 2005 and 2006; and more recently Clara Meneres was responsible for the four large sculptures of the archangels St. Michael, St. Raphael and St. Gabriel, accompanied by the Guardian Angel of the Fatherland.

On December 8, 2004, Pope John Paul II awarded the sanctuary the Golden Rose, a distinction that pontiffs grant to personalities, sanctuaries, churches or cities in recognition of relevant services rendered to the Church or for the good of society.