Legend of Our Lady of Good Success

    One day peasant passing through the land, next to the convent of São Romão, discoverd, resting on a rock, an image of the Virgin Mary holding, in her left arm, the Baby Jesus. 

     From the first he ran to the convent and told his discovery to Hades. These, suprised and the little suspicious, ran to the place indicated by the peasant and, in fact, there they found the image. There was a beautiful old wooden sculpture.

    An older friar took the image and carriend it to the convent church. Then one of the brothers went to call the priest of the Church of São Pedro and the provider of Mercy, so that they could see the image, in order to Know if it had been stolen from any of the churches in the reagin. 

     To everyone´s astonishment,no one had ever seen such an image. It only remained to spread the news through neighboring lands,someone would recognize it.

  In the early hours of the next morning, the bells rang in the convent of São Romão. It was time for Mass. As  soon as they entered the curch and looked at the altar.

     Where they had deposited the image of the virgin.

     Had someone dared to steal the image?Impossible! The convent was well guarded, and afterwards, no thief steals a wooden image leaving behind chalices and monstrances of gold and silver.

 To the amazement of all the friars, the image was found on top of a boulder, close to the place where it had first appeared. Even more astonishing was the fact that, on that boulder, a spring of clean water had burst. 

     It could only be a miracle,the friars said to each other. But why had the lady left the convent church? It seemed obvious that he wanted a church of his own, where he didn`t have to share worship whit any other saint.

   Soon the news spread through the village and, in a short time, a church was built to house the image. They named it the church of Nossa Senhora Do Bom Sucesso and for many years it was a place where people gathered in veneration of the miraculous image that had chosen that place to be adored. The church no longer exists, neither does the convent, but the fountain is still in the same place. 

     The image of our lady was guarded by devout people. In the place that gave rise to this legend, buildings were erected ana a new village grew up which we call Bom Sucesso, part of the parish of Alverca.

A long time ago, a shepherd boy who was tending his flock saw a beautiful Saint appear at dusk, as if by magic, with a braid that reached down to her bare feet.