Churches | Holy Spirit Chapels | Shrines

"…located at first floor level, the shrines had an oil lamp handled by means of a rope or chain and which was kept in a small case built into the wall well within the reach of a person of medium stature. The caretaker of the statue had the key to the case. He would remove the chain from its hook, lower the oil lamp, fill it up with olive oil, light the wicker and once more raise the lamp to light up the statue and way of folk who happened to pass by."

Julio Couto about the "alminhas" or shrines of Porto, Portugal.