Imagine a place filled with the hopes and prayers for seamen and explorers of a great seafaring country. This place is the Hieronymites Monastery, or JerónimosvMonastery,  (“Mosteiro dos Jerónimos” in Portuguese), the most notable Portuguese monastery of the 16th century.
The Hieronymites, an order of hermit monks, initially occupied the monastery, which was dedicated to St. Jerome. Their role was to pray for the king, as well as for navigators and explorers. The monks also gave spiritual assistance to seamen who came to the monastery.
The Portuguese Age of Exploration
Portuguese navigators and explorers started their journeys to new lands on the banks of the Tagus River, near the monastery, in the Lisbon parish of Belém, Portugal. These expeditions changed the world as people knew it in the 15th and 16th centuries….