Hope Fountain

Hope is the route. It is the waiting for a good future, that in the present we do not reach. It is the anchor for the soul and is symbolized at the fountain by the Noah’s Ark, where veins of water flow.

We no longer have the Ark of Noah, but we have the Bom Jesus mountain hill, the savior who does not let drown in the sea of unbelief and the sea of injustice. In the midst of tribulations, the anchor is the board of salvation, it is the hope that knows how to face difficulties, that overcomes obstacles, that has answers.

Higher is the statue allusive to Hope, represented by a woman with tied hair, who holds an anchor in her left hand and a dove that flutters on her right arm. At the base of the statue, the inscription: «EXPECTANTS BEATAM SPEM ET ADVENTUM GLORIAE», translated: «awaiting for our blessed hope and the manifestation of glory».

The Noah’s Ark on the mountain alludes to the universal flood, which almost put an end to humanity. But hope overcame fear and everything was redone.

Otherwise, the anchor is considered a symbol of firmness, solidity, tranquility and fidelity, being the last safeguard of the sailor in the storm. The anchor is often linked to hope, as a support in the difficulties of life. The dove is also related to Noah’s Ark as a symbol of hope. He released a dove to see if the water had reached its normal bed. The dove in the first time went and returned because it found no place to land. 7 days later he released her again, but returned with an olive branch in his beak. Noticing that the water level was dropping. Noah waited another seven days and released the dove again, and it did not return.

The fountain of Hope has, within the niche, the representation of Noah’s ark on a mountainside, accompanied by the sign «ARCA IN QUA ANIMAE SALVAE FACTAE SUNT», translated by: «the ark, in which few people were saved. ».