Located in the parish of Portela, near Sacavém, but already in the municipality of Loures, the Igreja Matriz Paroquial do Cristo-Rei da Portela is a real find near Lisbon, with a church that combines faith with modern and somewhat unusual architecture.
At least for us, who have seen and visited many churches, we had never seen anything like this, a religious building that is totally different from what we are used to seeing in this type of infrastructure.
It’s true that there are some very beautiful churches in Lisbon, and many of them are unique and “different”, but the Portela Church is something transcendent. We’ll tell you more about it below.
Spiritual center since 1970
The construction of the Church of Christ the King of Portela began in 1970, with the help of donations from the then local population, which hadn’t even formed the current parish of Portela, something that only happened in 1985, and this religious icon was only inaugurated in November 1992, finally becoming the spiritual center of this community to the east of the city of Lisbon, when Parque das Nações was still a dream.
Designed and conceived by architect Luiz Cunha, who at the time was well known for his innovative approach to the design of religious temples, the Church of Portela is dedicated to Christ the King.
Bold and modern
If there’s one thing that’s different about this church, it’s its appearance, both outside and inside. From the outside, you can tell immediately by the circular dome inspired by a royal crown, which in this case symbolizes Christ’s kingship.
Next to this is a bell tower with a carillon of 14 bells , which highlights the entrance to the churchyard and creates an urban space that acts as a meeting point for the faithful.
Inside, the structure is also very different from what we’ve already seen, and here we highlight some artistic elements:
- Upper mosaic: 16 panels depicting the History of Salvation in black and white;
- Sculptures: four in marble, representing the evangelists;
- Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament: located behind the main altar, with a tabernacle inspired by Greek architecture;
- Baptismal font : with the inscription “Fons Salvatoris” (Saving Fountain ), symbolizing the importance of baptism in Christianity.
The thick brick walls and virtuous wooden beams and structures reflect the rays of natural light, which burst into this temple as if evoking ancient Mediterranean Christian temples, creating a very serene and calming atmosphere.
There are many other artistic elements by the architect of the Portela Church, Luiz Cunha, and also by Emília Nadal, but the sculptor Eloísa Nadal Byrne owns the image of Christ the King located in the presbytery.
The church in the Portela “project
Today, this church is still very much involved in everything that goes on within this community, often hosting important celebrations and religious events, as well as being an inclusive space prepared to meet all of Portela‘s spiritual and social needs, itself a project that is really worth finding out more about.
It was a real estate window in Buenos Aires in the 1960s that inspired the early development of this part of Greater Lisbon.
The geometric configuration of the neighborhood, which would be built around a shopping center with New York influences, is another of the highlights of the emergence of this community, and it was even the first neighborhood in Lisbon with land-use planning.
The basic idea of organizing the buildings around a shopping area was to allow residents to meet in the same place, and this can also be seen from the Portela Church, which also has a circular shape and therefore fits in well with the “physiognomy” of the neighbourhood.
Bordering other equally well-known localities around the capital , such as Moscavide, Sacavém and Prior Velho, Portela has more than 20,000 inhabitants, in a space of around one square kilometer , where the main points of interest are – along with the church featured here – the Portela Shopping Centre, the swimming pools and the Portela Sports Park (with three tennis courts, a sports ring and an esplanade), the Portela Residents’ Association Sports Park, the Olivais Seminary and the Almeida Garrett and Descobertas Gardens.
Address: Avenida dos Descobrimentos 4 (Portela)
Mass times: Sundays at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.; Saturdays at 7 p.m.; Tuesday to Saturday at 9.30 a.m.