The mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira, left to his successor the decision to publicly show the heart of D. Pedro IV, the day the Church of Lapa welcomed the organ again.
“My term ends in three years, surely it will no longer make sense in my term. If my successor decides to do it the next day, I think the whole world will approve it”, the independent mayor told journalists today, after watching over the heart of D. Pedro IV, I of Brazil.
During a rigorous 40-minute act, which included the interpretation, on the pipe organ of the Church of Lapa, by Filipe Veríssimo, of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Marcos Portugal and D. Pedro IV himself, members of the Battalion Sapadores Firefighters of Porto and the Municipal Police, assisted by a military guard, participated in the replacement of the heart inside the church, to later return to its permanent mausoleum.
On a table in the center of the church, the heart was placed in the coffin by Rui Moreira, which was then screwed, placed inside a locked wooden urn by the provider of the Irmandade da Lapa, Maria Manuela Rebelo, who handed the key to the mayor.
An exterior mahogany urn, with the first urn inside, was picked up by firefighters, who placed it in the mausoleum and locked it with five keys, later delivered to the mayor of Porto, returning D. Pedro’s heart to its place rest original.
“I think it was already done. The risks that some thought that the heart would not come back, that they would have problems, I think all of that has been resolved,” Rui Moreira told reporters.
The mayor has recalled that, to replace the formaldehyde that protects the heart of the ‘Soldier King’, the urn must be opened at least every five years.
“In public or in private it is a future decision. I think that from now on the idea stayed, in fact, that this attracts a lot of attention, “she shared.
According to figures provided by an official source from the Chamber of Porto, some 10,000 people visited the public exhibition of D. Pedro’s heart in Porto, both before and after the trip to Brazil, as part of the celebrations for the country’s bicentennial . independence. .
Rui Moreira added that the exhibition was “a device that was developed” and “that will not be lost, a special ‘showcase’”.
“I think we have all the conditions for this to be done in five years, or sooner. Now, in my time, surely not”, he reaffirmed.
Regarding the role of the heart of D. Pedro -which he baptized as the “treasure of the city”- for Lapa, Rui Moreira said that “it is a particularly important area” of Porto.
The independent mayor recalled that the City Council “will rehabilitate both Praça da República”, returning it “to its original design”, and wants to “dignify also the space between the Church of Lapa and the headquarters” opposite.
“This is an area that I naturally hope will become more popular with Portuguese and foreign tourists. I think that for the Church of Lapa this is an opportunity,” he told reporters.
Rui Moreira expressed the wish that the church be “also a place to listen to music”, recalling the rehabilitation of the pipe organ, with municipal support.
Source: Observadora
