The bell of the chapel located next to the historic site of Batalha de Ourique, near Castro Verde, no Beja district, was stolen and the parish has already filed a complaint with the GNR, revealed the parish priest LuÃs Fernandes.
The parish priest of Castro Verde, Luis Fernandes, indicated that, of the objects now stolen from the Chapel of São Pedro das Cabeças, the bell in bronze, 17th or 18th century, it is “the most irreparable”.
“The tower can only be accessed from the roof. Therefore, climbed onto the roof and pulled out, literally, the bell and left the header and ironwork scattered around the chapel”, advanced the person in charge.
The other stolen objects, pointed, “were popular images, of little value, that can be bought in Fatima”, why “it's been a long time” that the sacred art was removed from the most isolated hermitages in the area to prevent theft.
Parish priest LuÃs Fernandes said he had been alerted to the theft, on tuesday afternoon, by GNR, who contacted him after a popular person warned the authorities that the church would have its door open.
The theft will have taken place “in this last fortnight, why, on 25 July, there was a ceremony” next to the hermitage and, this day, “everything was in order, with the bell in the tower and the pictures inside”, said.
According to the official, the place where the church is located, despite being isolated, just over five kilometers from the village of Castro Verde, “it is a place with a lot of passage”, because is “the most emblematic place in the area and much visited by tourists”.
The stolen bell dates from the 17th or 18th century, since it was placed “when the hermitage was enlarged”, which is also dated to that period, highlighted, based on “information from historical chronicles” of the parish.
Contacted by Lusa, A source from the GNR's Beja Territorial Command confirmed that a complaint was filed for theft at the hermitage, limiting itself to stating that the facts will be communicated to the Public Prosecutor's Office and that the case will be investigated.
According to the Chamber of Castro Verde, the site of São Pedro das Cabeças is “a reference in Portuguese historiography as the site of the Battle of Ourique, I don't know XII” it is a “place of strong historical importance for the county”.
Legend has it that Afonso Henriques faced, in 25 July 1139, in the so called “Campos de Ourique”, a vast army commanded by five Moorish kings and, after victory, his soldiers led him to proclaim himself King of Portugal.
The São Pedro das Cabeças site is one of the places where the Castro Verde Chamber promotes, annually, in July, initiatives to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Ourique.
News: JN/ Lidador News
