Nossa Senhora da Conceição - Holiday in Portugal

According to a tradition, following the Crisis of 1383-1385 and after the Portuguese victory at the Battle of Aljubarrota (1385) against the Castilians, the Constable D. Nuno Álvares Pereira (or São Nuno de Santa Maria) ordered the construction of the Church of Nossa Senhora do Castelo, in Vila Viçosa, and had that Catholic temple consecrated to Nossa Senhora da Conceição. To that end, he commissioned an image of Our Lady of the Conception in England to be venerated in that church.
After the Restoration of Portuguese Independence (1640) and in the midst of the Restoration War against Spain, the King of Portugal, D. João IV, of the House of Bragança and descendant of D. Nuno Álvares Pereira, solemnly swore and proclaimed, by royal provision of March 25, 1646, that Nossa Senhora da Conceição would be the Queen and Patron Saint of Portugal.
After the proclamation, D. João IV crowned the image of Nossa Senhora da Conceição, in Vila Viçosa, which, according to tradition, was commissioned by D. Nuno Álvares Pereira. Since then, as a sign of acknowledgment that Our Lady is the true Queen and Patron of Portugal, subsequent kings have never placed the royal crown on her head, and the crown, on solemn occasions, was only placed on a pillow , on the right side of the king.

In 1654, D. João IV sent a copy of the commemorative inscription, in Latin, of the solemn oath taken on March 25, 1646, to all Municipal Councils of the Portuguese Empire and ordered that inscription be engraved in stone and placed on doors and places. of Portuguese cities and towns.

King João V, in 1717, in a circular sent to the University of Coimbra and to all prelates and collegiate members of the Kingdom, recommended the annual celebration of the feast of the Immaculate Conception in his churches, recalling the oath of King João IV . King João VI, in 1818, founded the “Ordem de Nossa Senhora da Conceição de Vila Viçosa”, of an honorific nature.

Source : Wikipedia