Descent of Cross Chapel

On the left side of the Pelican, and after climbing another staircase, the Descent of the Cross chapel appears. It has, on the portal, the inscription of the Acts of the Apostles: «DEPONENTES EUM DE LIGNO», translated: «Taking it out of the Woods», evoking the recovery of Jesus body. The figure is by Afonseca Lapa.

In the inside the three crosses, which crown Golgotha, overlap the city of Jerusalem. We also find within it an explanatory note that surrounds us in the atmosphere of passion: «At three o’clock in the afternoon of Holy Friday, Jesus exhaled the last breath, on the top of the cross. The little blood in his veins ceased to circulate, and his divine body became a corpse. Supreme moment for the redemption of mankind! … The disciple José of Arimateia asked the governor Pôncio Pilatos for the body of the Lord, to bury him properly. Once this concession was obtained, Jesus was cut off from the cross, as this chapel represents. At the top of the cross, two men hold the ends of the sheet that holds Jesus’ left arm. ».