A total of 400,000 Euros are needed to bring Portimão’s main church back to life.
The church is undergoing work to refurbish the entire building, from the roof to the altars, but organisers of a fundraising campaign say they are far from reaching their target of 400,000 Euros to be able to complete the project. So far, they have managed to collect around 75,000 Euros.
Mário de Sousa, priest of Nossa Senhora da Conceição Church, its official name, said: “The rampant degradation of the timber roof not only places the safety of visitors at risk but is also leading to leaks inside the building.
“The altars are infested with wood-boring insects, whose destruction threatens the religious artwork within the church. Cracks on the walls need repairing, the electrical system has to be replaced and the building also needs to have a fire alarm system installed.”
Technicians have carried out a survey of the altars and found that during the last renovation works in 1955, the altars were painted gray covering their original marbled texture.
The aim now is to return the structure to its original condition. The church was expected to open in December, however, due to the complexity of the works it is now due to open in March 2011.
Anyone wishing to contribute to its restoration can do so at the church office or by bank transfer (Montepio NIB number 0036 0060 9910018862622).
For more information about the works, which started in May, please visit http://obrasmatrizportimao.blogspot.com (only available in Portuguese) where several pictures showing the areas that need rapid intervention can be viewed. Click on ‘Fotos do Telhado e Forro’ and ‘Fotos dos Altares e Interior’
