CHURCH OF SAINT ANDRÉ

National Monument (DG., s. 1, n. 161, dec. N. 25:614, of 15.7.1935); Protected Area (ZP, s. 2, n. 173, of 27.7.1948). It is quite probable that between the 5th and 7th centuries, a Christian temple was installed in the Roman monumental area as a substitute for a pagan sanctuary. Its tympanum (the semi-circular or triangular decorative wall surface over an entrance, door or window), long forgotten among the brambles (possibly since the 14th century), was rescued by Ambassador Fernando Lopes Vieira just a few decades ago.

However, the likelihood that the building later served as a mosque (the traditional name for pagan religious buildings) is unknown.

Certainly, there was a church in Mafra when the Bishop of Silves granted the town a charter (1189). It would be unthinkable for there not to be a church, especially in a territory dependent on a diocese, and there is also a reference to clergymen, who naturally exercise their pastoral duties in the parish of the town: "[...] The clergyman has knighthood status in everything. And if he is found with a woman in a bad way, the steward should not get involved, nor in any way should he take the child, but the woman should take it, if she wishes [...]".

In a survey of the Lisbon terms, carried out in the second quarter of the 13th century, in which the churches that existed there at the time were inventoried, there were no references to a church in Mafra, which is bizarre given that the town's lordship, "our castle which is called Mafara", belonged to the Order of Évora, later called St Benedict of Avis. Bento de Avis, to whose Master, Dom Gonçalo Viegas (1176-1193), D. Sancho I had donated it on 1st May 1193.

It wasn't until 3 April 1283 that a church in Mafra was mentioned again. The document, which was kept in the archives of Lisbon Cathedral, was burnt and lost in 1755, and only the 18th-century index, which sets out its contents, remains. It was a privilege granted by King Dinis to Pero Ramires, canon of the See of Lisbon and prior of the church of Mafra so that he could buy and annex certain possessions to his chapel.

After this, a decree of 12 November 1288 is known, which explains the economic relief of the temple of Maffora, although there is still no undoubted reference to its patron saint.

On 30 July 1337, Saint Andrew was to be expressly mentioned as the patron saint of the church of Mafra for the first time.

The information appears in the will of D. Maria Anes de Aboim, since 1289, the donee of Mafra and holder of the patronage of the respective parish. The lustre achieved by the parish of Santo André de Mafra is testified to by its elevation to a collegiate church in 1350 and, in particular, by the Visitations, the first of which dates back to 1473.

COLLEGIATE AND PARISH OF SAINT ANDRÉ
The oldest inventory of the property of the Collegiate Church of Santo André de Mafra dates back to 1537. It had a governor (former ecclesiastical rent collector), a vicar and five benefactors at the time. In 1760, the Church of St Andrew was a vicarage presented by the Mitra Patriarcal (previously by the Viscounts of Vila Nova de Cerveira). It divided the income from the fruits (of the parish and the annexed parishes of Ericeira and Santo Isidoro) between parts, one of which belonged to the chapter, another to the five benefactors, the other in turn was divided into three parts, two of which belonged to the seat called Mafra in the former Lisbon Cathedral (suppressed at the time), the third to the vicarage, from which the vicar of Mafra paid the fees due to the curates of the parishes of Ericeira and Santo Isidoro. The ‘Fábrica da Igreja’ (church estate management council) paid all its expenses.