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The Convent of Nossa Senhora da Conceição (Portuguese: Convento de Nossa Senhora da Conceição) is a former-monastic institution, situated in the civil parish of Sé, in the historic centre of the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, in the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores.
History
The convent was founded on 5 August 1606 by Pedro Cardoso Machado, third nephew of Gonçalo Eanes, with the papal bull arriving from Pope Paul V. An immigrant from the Spanish Indies, Machado wished to live on Terceira, and his pretext came from the difficulties of his sister. The ecclesiastical authorities in Praia had raised objects to his sister, then the Abadess of the monastery of Luz, and she wished to be transferred to this convent, then the home of Mother Simoa da Anunciação.
The convent began to operate on 11 April 1608, with nine nuns.
It was one of nine convents of the island of Terceira, identified by Father António Cordeiro:
"The seventh convent is commonly called Conceição das Freiras [Conception Nuns] for the distinction of the collegiate conceptionist clerics. It was this convent of stature, and rule so singular and perfect, that they say in Portugal there is only one similar in the east.Following the extinction of religious orders, in 1834, the remaining clergy were transferred here from the Convent of Santo Espírito.
With reforms instituted by the Marquess of Pombal, the convent was transformed into a hospital, and the sisters began to serve as orderlies and nurses.
During the 1 January 1980 Azores earthquake, the building was damaged. Although the building was not reconstructed, the regional government classified the complex on 9 September 2004, and included in the central zone of the historical centre of Angra do Heroismo.