EVORA: CAPELA DOS OSSOS

On our guided tour of Evora, Portugal, we visited another church, the Church of St. Francis.  The main part of the church was undergoing major renovation, but that was not our primary destination.  We were visiting the Capela dos Ossos, the Chapel of Bones.

This small chapel on the interior of the Church of St. Francis was built in the 16th century by a Franciscan monk.  Over the entrance to the chapel is a sign that reads (in translation), "We bones that are here now wait for your bones."

The interior walls of the small chapel are covered with the bones and skulls of some 5,000 monks that have been cemented together, as attested to by the following photos.

My thoughts were that all of these persons had lives that were meaningful, at least to them.  They had aspirations, joys, hardships.  They may have lived 25 years or 85 years, all some 400 to 500 years ago.  But they are nameless now.  For me it was a sobering commentary on how transitory our lives really are.

I did take a couple more photos on our way out, one of some nice tile work . . .

. . . and another of light streaming through a stained glass window and reflecting off a decorative supporting pillar in the main part of the church that was under renovation.

John