Impoverished Silves council has handed €30,000 to the church in Armaçao de Pêra to help pay for repairs and renovations.
The President of Silves Câmara, Rosa Palma, delivered the check to the parish priest, Fr Joaquim Beato.
The council explained that "this church was subject to theft and arson in August 2014 and it suffered extensive fire damage which greatly dismayed the entire local community and the district council.
Such was the uninsured damage that a new altar was needed along with an extensive refurbishment of much of the church interior including new floors and the installation of fire safety equipment and furniture for the sacristy.
It is not known how much Portugal’s Catholic Church, government funds or local voluntary donations each have contributed to the cost of the restoration programme but Silves’ ratepayers can be said to have done their bit, albeit involuntarily, towards restoring this important church building which reopened on March 21st this year.
