FÊTE DE SANTO CRISTO DOS MILAGRES

This is perhaps the most passionate of all Azorean festivals. Many emigrants return to São Miguel to attend. The statue of Christ of Miracles, given by the Pope to two nuns in 1530, was placed in the Da Esperança convent in 1541. Once a year, it is richly adorned and carried in a procession through the city on carpets of flowers. The first procession took place on April 11, 1700, under the auspices of Madre Teresa da Anunciada (1658-1738).