About The New Cathedral (Sé Nova Catedral de Coimbra) in Coimbra, Portugal:
Although commonly known as The New Cathedral of Coimbra (Sé Nova de Coimbra), it is actually named The Cathedral of the Holy Name of Jesus. It serves as a co-cathedral (along with the Old Cathedral, or Sé Velha) for the Diocese of Coimbra.
The Sé Nova reflects Portugal’s religious and political history, including Jesuit influence and 18th-century political shifts. Its design influenced colonial churches, such as the Cathedral of Salvador in Brazil.The building originated as the church of the Jesuit university college (Colégio de Jesus or College of the Eleven Thousand Virgins), with the Jesuits arriving in Coimbra in 1543. Construction of the church began around 1598 (with some sources noting groundwork from the 1540s) under architect Baltazar Álvares and progressed slowly; it was inaugurated in 1698.
After the expulsion of the Jesuits from Portugal in 1759 (under the Marquis of Pombal), the building became available. In 1772, the bishopric seat moved here from the older, damp, and less suitable Romanesque Old Cathedral, making this the new cathedral.
The cathedral blends Mannerist style (Mannerism prized artificiality, sensuous distortion, and dramatic, often elongated human proportions on the lower façade and Baroque on the upper façade and interior decorations styles. The façade follows Jesuit architectural principles—relatively sober and austere at the base, with contrasting Baroque elements higher up. It features statues of four Jesuit saints in niches, two bell towers behind the main façade, and a dome over the crossing.
Inside, it has a single nave with lateral chapels, a transept, and barrel vaulting. Highlights include magnificent gilded wood altarpieces (17th–18th centuries) in the transept arms and main chapel, exemplifying Portuguese “national” style along with Mannerist and Baroque altars in the side chapels. The baptismal font is an intricate late Gothic-Manueline stone font (early 16th century) by local artisans Pero and Felipe Henriques.
A notable attraction here in the Cathedral are the relics of Pope Saint John I. A highly ornate head reliquary of St. Pope John I is displayed here the New Cathedral of Coimbra. It is a finely crafted, gilded reliquary bust, designed to contain and venerate the sacred relics of the Pope who died in 526 AD. Pope Saint John I inherited the Arian heresy, which denied the divinity of Christ. Italy had been ruled for 30 years by an emperor who espoused the heresy, though he treated the empire’s Catholics with toleration. His policy changed at about the time the young John was elected pope. When the eastern emperor began imposing severe measures on the Arians of his area, the western emperor forced John to head a delegation to the East to soften the measures against the heretics. Little is known of the manner or outcome of the negotiations—designed to secure continued toleration of Catholics in the West. On his way home, John was imprisoned at Ravenna because the emperor had begun to suspect that John’s friendship with his eastern rival might lead to a conspiracy against his throne. Shortly after his imprisonment, John died, apparently from the treatment he received in prison.
The reliquary is publicly displayed inside the cathedral.
Traveling to The New Cathedral (Sé Nova Catedral de Coimbra) in Coimbra, Portugal:
The New Cathedral is near the historic University of Coimbra in the upper town (Alta de Coimbra), at Largo da Feira dos Estudantes.
Address: : Largo Feira dos Estudantes, 3000-214 Coimbra, Portugal
Phone: +351 239 823 138