Cathedral Se, Funchal, Madeira

Cathedral Se is located on the island of Madeira in the capital of Funchal. It has a spire that is easily spotted from some distance and is located close to the port and marina, so it is what I would call a good focal point in the hub of Funchal. Opening times are random and seem subject to change on a daily basis. We were told it was open from 9 to 12am and then open again from 4 - 6pm. We found the reality was different so on finding it closed ...
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Historically the Cathedral was built in the 15th Century and is one of the oldest buildings on the island, it is best described as looking slightly rustic. From the outside it looks like the cathedral has been made out of dark red/brown blocks. These blocks are made from the locally quarried stone, giving the Cathedral a blockwork patched quilt of sections of blockwork stones with patches of rendered walls washed in brilliant white. As ... more

Cathedral Se is located on the island of Madeira in the capital of Funchal. It has a spire that is easily spotted from some distance and is located close to the port and marina, so it is what I would call a good focal point in the hub of Funchal. Opening times are random and seem subject to change on a daily basis. We were told it was open from 9 to 12am and then open again from 4 - 6pm. We found the reality was different so on finding it closed one morning we were surprised when we managed to get in at 2pm the same afternoon. Later I found out that the opening times stated are standard times and will change depending on what church activities are in progress.

Historically the Cathedral was built in the 15th Century and is one of the oldest buildings on the island, it is best described as looking slightly rustic. From the outside it looks like the cathedral has been made out of dark red/brown blocks. These blocks are made from the locally quarried stone, giving the Cathedral a blockwork patched quilt of sections of blockwork stones with patches of rendered walls washed in brilliant white. As well as giving you a sense of age the design style is seemingly unique to this island. Although not the biggest or most photogenic of Cathedral's that I have seen Cathedral Se is one of the biggest religious buildings in Funchal. I liked the architecture outside and the location close to the hub of the city and the marina area. It is easily accessible as car parks, bus stops, taxi ranks and even a port are all within walking distance.

You enter the Cathedral down some steps and through the main entrance of two sets of wooden doors. As the day was sunny, hot and bright the cool interior was almost haunting, dark even unnerving after the strong sunlight of early afternoon. As your eyes slowly adjust to the darkness the ornate beauty of the interior is revealed. There are wonderfully carved wooden icon decorations inside and paintings on the walls around the altar. Walking down the sides there are wooden rails with various carved saintly icons and candles flickering in the gloom.

Looking up to the high ceiling you can view the Moorish style wooden cedar roof with its many ornately carved joints mad from ivory bought over from Africa. I was just able to get a view of some of the carvings to see that they represented all sorts of flowers and animals. In one of the chapels to the right of the altar is a large carving of Jesus on the cross with two statues either side. We took a seat in a similar chapel to the left of the altar with a large carving of a man carrying a child. My religious education fails me at this point and I am unable to recall exactly who this saint is meant to be, but for me it represents St Christopher. It makes sense to me as the Cathedral is on an island and the inhabitants would want to pray to the patron saint of travellers before a long voyage. Here in this chapel we sat for about a half an hour watching the world go by, it was a good place to sit on a hot sunny afternoon and just people watch. I noted many local old ladies coming in with bags of shopping in their hands, stand at the statues in the other chapel, touch a foot, pray and move off. I always find that a little time spent in a holy place reinvigorates me and this cathedral certainly helped me on that day.

There is little more to say regarding the Cathedral Se in Funchal, it is a nice place to see, but nothing special. It is free to get in although there are some steps and a high door threshold to negotiate as you go through the main entrance, however I did note that there was a rear door that had no steps. I would recommend this Cathedral for anyone who has an interest in architecture, religion and cool buildings on a hot day. This is not really a must see in Funchal, but if you are wandering around the capital of Madeira you will stumble across it at some point and it won't harm you to pop in and have a look around. You won't find the 'Da Vinci Code' here, but did I see something that looked like the 'Knight Templar' coat of arms or did I?

Thank you for reading rating and commenting.

Martin

PS - Pictures of the outside of the Cathedral are not mine, they are used from www.trekearth.com, photographer credited where shown. Inside photos are screen grabs from my camcorder, hence why they are a bit poor.
 

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