Chapel of Nossa Senhora-a-Branca - Braga

The current building dates from the eighteenth century , but there are reports of a hermitage dedicated to the Mother of God in the area from the first quarter of the fourteenth century.

It was rebuilt in the time of Bishop D. Diogo de Sousa. Diogo de Sousa, as a finishing touch to the field of Sant'Ana, which he had opened. Originally it was called the Church of Our Lady of the Snows. Because there is an image of Our Lady in white in the middle niche of the church's façade, it began to be called Senhora-a-Branca, which became the current name of the church.

The invocation (lat: Sanctae Mariae ad Nives) is directly linked to the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome , which also explains the devotion to the Nativity that developed in this temple in Braga.

On the pediment, in the middle, the following inscription can be read, taken from Psalm 67: NIVE / DEALBABUNTR / IN SELMON / MONS DEI / MONS IN QUO / BENEPLACITUM / EST DEO / HABITARE IN EO / ANNO D. 1771.[2]

The church is an example of Mannerist, Baroque and Neoclassical architecture.

The church has a pipe organ by José António de Sousa from 1774. Of particular note is the tabernacle in the altar of the Tribune, designed by André Soares in 1751. The two side altarpieces dedicated to Our Lady and the Sacred Heart of Jesus date from the end of the 19th century, as does the current tilework. The altar on the façade dates from 1903 and the one in the sacristy, although installed in 1711, is from the 17th century.

Willem Vandenameele