Our Lady of Sameiro in resin.
The Sanctuary of Nossa Senhora do Sameiro originated when, in 1863, Father Martinho da Silva ordered the construction of a granite pedestal to place a statue of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. The increasing number of pilgrims led to the beginning, in 1870, of the construction of a chapel measuring 30 by 18 meters, where, in 1880, a wooden statue of the image of the Immaculate Conception, blessed in Rome by Pius, was placed. IX, and called “Our Lady of Sameiro”. Within a few years, the chapel became too small to accommodate so many pilgrims and, in 1890, construction of the current Basilica began. The image of the Immaculate Conception was taken from the old chapel to the Basilica, where it still remains today.