The Convent of Santo André, located in Ponta Delgada (São Miguel Island, Azores), was founded in 1567 by Diogo Vaz Carreiro and his wife Beatriz Rodrigues Camelo. Handed over in 1577 to the Order of St. Francis (Poor Clares), it was the second female convent in the city after that of Nossa Senhora da Esperança.

The building stands out as one of the most beautiful examples of Azorean convent architecture. It retains its original structure, despite renovations over the centuries. The volcanic stone façade displays typical 18th and 19th century ornamentation, with Mannerist period windows. Inside, the convent church has a single nave with frescoes dating from 1820, as well as altars and a gilded pulpit from the same period.

After the extinction of religious orders in 1832, the convent fell into a state of abandonment and decay. The decisive step came in 1928, with the proposal to incorporate the property into the Carlos Machado Museum. After the necessary adaptations, the museum moved to the convent around 1930.

The Carlos Machado Museum was founded in 1876 and opened to the public in 1880 as the Azorean Museum. Renamed in 1914, it is the oldest museum in the Azores and houses collections of natural history, ethnography, sacred art, and regional painting.

The former Convent of Santo André has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1953.

Here you can also find photographs of the Sacred Art Collection of the Carlos Machado Museum, housed in the former Jesuit College Church (All Saints Church), a magnificent Baroque example in volcanic stone dating back to the 17th century. The church was rebuilt between 1637 and 1666 and, after the expulsion of the Jesuits in 1760, it was left without worship and its contents were dispersed.

In 2004, the space was restored and adapted to house the Sacred Art Center. The collection features works from the 17th and 18th centuries, such as the painting “The Coronation of the Virgin” by Vasco Pereira Lusitano (1604) and scenes from the life of St. Francis Xavier, attributed to Bento Coelho da Silveira.