Carmelite Convent of Santa Teresa "Carmelo de Santa Teresa"

The Carmelite Convent of Santa Teresa, belonging to the Carmelite Order, was founded by a group of Carmelites. Inaugurated in 1744, it was the seventh Carmelite convent to be founded in Portugal.

In the 19th century, following the extinction of religious orders in Portugal, the nuns were forced to leave the convent and were taken in by family and friends. Later, many of them joined various Carmelite convents in Spain. In 1933, when Portugal was already enjoying religious freedom, three of the nuns from this community who had moved to Spain decided to return and, with the support of three other Spanish sisters, restored the community and the Carmelite convent in Coimbra. Years later, after much effort, the Carmelites managed to recover the keys to the convent from which they had been expelled, this being the only Carmelite convent that the government returned to the Order. Thus, the Carmelite convent in Coimbra continued as a retreat house for a community of Carmelites who live a life of silent devotion to the Church and humanity.

Among the many nuns who lived in the Carmelite convent of Santa Teresa, Sister Lúcia, the visionary of Fátima, stands out. She lived in seclusion in this convent from 1948 until 2005 (the year of her death), having taken her vows in 1949. After Sister Lucia's death, the Carmelite Convent of Saint Teresa created the Sister Lucia Memorial, where it is possible to see a replica of her cell, as well as some of her personal belongings, photographs, handicrafts, and other items that help to understand her life journey.