Legend of the Lord of Castelinho

A woman from Aldeia Rica, in the municipality of Celorico, was tormented for nights on end by strange dreams: somewhere, surrounded by cliffs, moss and brambles, an image of the crucified Lord appeared to her. She would wake up in the middle of the night, flooded with water, as if she were in a nightmare. She would get out of bed without waking her husband, say an Our Father and a Hail Mary and get back into the sheets.

But the dream became so frequent that the woman, Ana Antunes, ended up telling her husband about it.

Annoyed by his wife's concerns, the man asked her:

-What the hell is wrong with you, woman?

- The image of Our Lord is covered in brambles and moss, lost in a crevice, man!

The husband shrugged his shoulders, putting aside the worries that overwhelmed his wife.

One day, despite all the man's disbelief, they ended up leaving. They set off in vain in search of the figure, she on top of the jerico and he on foot.

The man, tired of walking and full of questions, asked the woman where they were going.

- Let the donkey go on her way. I have a hunch she's going to go straight,’ said the woman.

They walked for several leagues without speaking to each other, when the animal stopped at Ancinho, near some large crags.

As it was hot, both man and animal were thirsty and tired.

The woman soon came face to face with the image engraved on the rock of Christ crucified, wrapped in moss and brambles.

- So, my unbeliever, I didn't tell you!

The man didn't have the courage to reply, but knelt down and prayed.

The people, with great joy and devotion, immediately tried to give him a more human form and gave him the name Senhor do Castelinho (Lord of the Little Castle), because he was on top of some cliffs, where there was a masonry castle.