São Mateus and Pico's south-west coast: the Bom Jesus sanctuary, Candelária and Prainha do Galeão

The south-west coast of Pico is easy to drive straight through. It is the stretch of regional road ER 1-1ª between Madalena and Lajes do Pico, and the whales and the mountain are somewhere else. If you have a spare half-day, or you are staying in Madalena and want a slow afternoon, the three parishes along it are worth getting out of the car for: Candelária, São Mateus and São Caetano. Between them they have the island's main religious festival, three official bathing areas and a coast of vineyard plots and fishing harbours.

São Caetano, the farthest of the three, is about 18 kilometres from Madalena. Everything below sits on or just below the same road, so you can take the parishes in order and turn back whenever you have had enough.

Candelária starts where Criação Velha ends, so if you have just come out of Gruta das Torres you are already close. The parish church of Nossa Senhora das Candeias stands on the main road between the localities of Monte and Mirateca. It was founded in 1803. Candelária was the birthplace of Cardinal José da Costa Nunes, and his bust stands in front of the church.

Below the road, the bay at Pocinho is one of Pico's official bathing areas for 2026. The bathing season runs from the start of June to the end of September. Porto do Calhau, a little fishing harbour, is in the same parish.

São Mateus is the oldest settlement in the municipality of Madalena. Its church is a diocesan sanctuary, and the Bom Jesus festival held there every August is the island's main religious celebration.

The church is usually called São Mateus after the parish, but it is dedicated to the Senhor Bom Jesus Milagroso. The devotion has a traceable start. Francisco Ferreira Goulart, born in 1812, emigrated to Brazil, where he saw the image of the Bom Jesus de Iguape. In 1862 he came home with a replica of it. The new image drew so many people that its feast overtook the parish's own feast of Saint Matthew, and the church was raised to a diocesan sanctuary in 1962. The image is an Ecce Homo, Christ standing and wounded. In his homily on 6 August 2024 the bishop counted 162 years of veneration here.

The main day is 6 August, and pilgrims arrive over the first days of the month. There is a mass, a procession, philharmonic bands and, by an old custom, a cattle auction on one of the festival days. If you are on Pico in early August it is worth seeing. Most people now come by car for the mass and the procession, so expect a busy coast road that day. Outside the festival there are no published visiting hours, and the door may be shut between services.

São Mateus was a whaling parish too. By the harbour you can still see the old boat house where the whaleboats were kept, and there are former whale lookouts on the slopes above. The ground under the village is one of Pico's lava deltas, the largest on the island, built out into the sea by flows from the cones of Cabeço da Prainha and Cabeço de São Mateus. You see it as low cliffs along the shore near the harbour. There is a lighthouse on Ponta de São Mateus.

The São Mateus bathing area is on the 2026 official list and was rated Gold Quality for its water.

São Caetano was part of the São Mateus settlement before it became a parish of its own, and it still goes by two older names, Prainha do Sul and Galeão. The parish church dates from 1878. The parish also has the hermitage of Santa Margarida, in the locality of the same name.

The coastal strip here is under vines, with stone walls dividing the plots and abandoned adegas, the old wine cellars, scattered between them. The walled plots look much like the ones at Criação Velha, with far fewer visitors.

Prainha do Galeão, the parish's harbour, is the third official bathing area on this stretch in 2026. It did not receive a water-quality award this year.

Start at Madalena and follow ER 1-1ª south-east. Candelária comes first, then São Mateus, then São Caetano at about 18 kilometres. In summer, take swimming things: Pocinho, São Mateus and Prainha do Galeão are all official bathing areas between June and September.

Past São Caetano you reach Mistério de São João, where the PR15PIC trail starts. It is an easy 8.5-kilometre linear walk across two lava fields to Silveira, described in our coastal walks guide. Lajes do Pico and its whale-watching boats are further along the same road. If you want to compare the bathing areas with the rest of the island, our swimming guide lists every official one for 2026, and the best-time guide has the other summer festivals.

When is the Bom Jesus festival in São Mateus? Every year, with 6 August as the main day. Pilgrims arrive over the first days of August, and the procession and mass are the high point.

Is the São Mateus sanctuary open to visitors? It is a working parish church and a diocesan sanctuary, with no published visiting hours. Go around mass times or during the August festival.

Can you swim on the south-west coast of Pico? Yes. Pocinho, São Mateus and Prainha do Galeão were all official bathing areas in 2026, with the season from June to September. São Mateus was rated Gold Quality for its water.

How far is São Mateus from Madalena? It is on the regional road ER 1-1ª between Madalena and Lajes. São Caetano, the parish beyond it, is about 18 kilometres from Madalena.

• SIARAM, Fajã de São Mateus, Parque Natural do Pico
• Açoriano Oriental, "The saint has a look that speaks"
• Diocese of Angra, homily of 6 August 2024
• Cais do Pico, official bathing areas 2026