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A license was granted for the foundation of the Convent of the Franciscan Apostolic Missionaries of Vinhais on January 7, 1740, by D. Jo~ao V, to the entities of Vinhais and its residents. On November 12, 1751, Bishop Jo~ao da Cruz, Bishop of Miranda, authorized the apostolic missionaries of the Convent of Varatojo to found «on the Taipa site the Seminary of Our Lady of the Incarnation of religious of the Order of S~ao Francisco apostolic missionaries of the Brancanes Institute '. This property was donated by Jos'e de Morais Sarmento, a native of Vinhais, a major promoter of the work. The first stone was laid on January 6, 1752. The illustrious Jos'e Morais Sarmento, who died in 1762, yielded a 48-year remuneration in testament and asked that the seminar become the royal patron of the crown… This work had other benefactors like Jos'e de Magalh~aes, morgado de Valpacos, sponsor in 1785 of the tank and, probably, of the cloister or part of it, as you can see in the inscription engraved on the wall of the tank. With the expulsion of religious orders from the country, by the Decree of May 28, 1834, much of the estate and assets of the seminary passed into the tutelage of the State. After the expulsion of the religious, the Convent was sold to private individuals, serving as accommodation for the public offices and barracks of the military detachment. It was leased by the prelate of Braganca, D. Jos'e Lopes Leite de Faria, to serve as a diocesan seminary, on November 15, 1920. With the purchase of the property by the diocese, it became a minor seminary. It is currently disabled. The Churches of S~ao Francisco, Chapel of No. Sra. Das Dores and Chapel of the Prayer of Jesus in the Garden, owned by Order III of S~ao Francisco de Vinhais and the Church of the Seminary, dedicated to N. Sra. of the Incarnation. On the baroque masonry facade, framed by strong pilasters, there are latticed windows with a Joanine frame and pinnacles that finish off the cornices where the pediments are torn. The portal has three arches, of the same height, opening the central arch to the atrium giving access to the church and the seminary. D. Maria I's weapons emerge above these, and on top of the arches three windows are torn. The plant, like the others, has straight jambs over which a carpanel arch appears. On the entablature, inside the eardrum, there is a niche that houses the image of Nossa Senhora da Encarnac~ao. In the pediment, the Franciscan shield stands out. The arch of the facade is crowned, in the center, by a cross based on a baroque pedestal, and on the sides by two pyramids.
http://www.360cities.net/image/vinhais-convent-of-sao-francisco-aerial-braganca-portugal
