«The world of worship and the world of culture have different dialogues but both benefit from common experiences»

Monsenhor Manuel Leal Pedrosa

The Artistic Inventory of the Archdiocese of Évora project resulted from a meeting of minds between two institutions: the Eugénio de Almeida Foundation, interested in extending and qualifying its mission in the cultural field, particularly with regard to the protection, enhancement and dissemination of Heritage; and the Archdiocese of Évora, seeking to get to know, preserve and make available to the public its own movable artistic heritage, with a view to evangelisation and also the cultural development of society.

Under the cooperation agreement signed in 2002 and successively renewed, the Foundation was responsible for the design and management of the project, providing the financial, technical and human resources necessary for its development. In turn, the Archdiocese of Évora was a zealous and committed builder of bridges between the inventory team and those responsible for the 158 parishes involved. Their identification with the scope of the initiative, their attentive and proactive support, as well as the interest they showed in accompanying the work and communicating with the inventory team were essential factors for the project’s success in the field.

And so, true to its institutional mission, and with a sense of the future, for 12 years the Foundation implemented a general plan of action, to identify, study, get to know, make known and enhance a significant part of a legacy through which the Faith of a community was expressed and an artistic and cultural frame of reference was created for Portuguese Culture.

To this end the Foundation defined a strategy that was integrated and coordinated at two levels: the inventory itself and the dissemination of its results. Both these levels revealed the pioneering and innovative spirit of the project, distinguished from comparable projects in other dioceses not only by the comprehensive range of contents and types of objects inventoried, but also by the systematic and diversified public dissemination of knowledge, including a website. This meant that it could be used for catechistic and educational purposes, as well to for historical and artistic insights. Other instruments of mediation and instruments to bring the public closer to the collections studied were also created, as contributions to the development of a successful process of extensive awareness-raising about culture and heritage. The project opened new perspectives for researchers, for school communities, for public and private institutions and for ordinary citizens with regard to the conservation and enhancement of this heritage in particular, but also of Heritage in a broader sense, in terms of knowledge, of increasing opportunities for cultural experiences, of best practices in conservation and safety, as well as of socio-economic development – of particular importance with regard to local, regional and national tourism.

A mention should be made here of the collection of publications that focused attention on some of the more emblematic objects studied in the different municipalities – objects of historical, artistic, cultural and scientific importance and also examples of the experience of Faith in each community (…).

In O Labirinto da Saudade, Eduardo Lourenço observed that «the average Portuguese know their country insufficiently – including that part of it where they live or consider their own […]; [and this] is a fact that stems from a more generic national stance, that of living their existence more than understanding it».

Projects such as the Artistic Inventory of the Archdiocese of Évora reflect this concern and seek to provide a response. To understand our existence as a Nation requires knowledge of a legacy not only of art, but also of the values of Christian spirituality associated with it, to which our history, our tradition and our culture are irrevocably bound. These are the roots of our “Portugueseness”, on which our national identity is founded. To underestimate or forget this heritage is to lose the reference of the differentiating element that defines us culturally in the context of the European nations.

Sacred art is a living heritage with a splendour that must be known, shared, enhanced, safeguarded. To preserve Memories. To bequeath to the Future.

In Memory and Splendour: Sacred Art in the Archdiocese of Évora