Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

This is the first visit of a President of the Republic to the city of Vizela, in almost forty years of democratic regime.

I thus want to begin by addressing a very special greeting to the people of Vizela and to their recently elected representatives to a further local authority mandate.

A greeting that evidences the public recognition of the assertion of a collective project that this community saw consecrated, 15 years ago, with the institution of its Municipality. This is a first tribute that, while President of the Republic, I wish to render all the people of Vizela.

I render my second tribute to all those who aided the Vizela Holy Almshouse to recover its humanitarian mission, especially the traditional values of health that were at the origin of its foundation.

And it is in these origins that we find the footprints of the identity not just of this institution but equally of the people of Vizela.

Founded on the legacy of António Francisco Guimarães, a Portuguese immigrant in Brazil whose fortune he decided to share with his birth place, the Vizela Holy Almshouse resulted from the merger between the Dr. João Rocha dos Santos Poorhouse the Vizela Charitable Association.

Thus the philanthropic sensitivity of an immigrant gathered together with the wish to materialize a greater dream of two existing institutions: an Almshouse and a Hospital that served with dignity the less favoured people.

The fortunes of history were not always helpful towards the materialization of this initial project, but I can feel, while visiting this modern facility providing health services and social support for the aged, that we are witnessing a return to the true identity of this Holy Almshouse.

In a way, justice has been rendered to those who, throughout a whole century, had the great dream to exalt Vizela with a spirit of solidarity and with the conviction that we must not refrain from our beliefs.

The People of Vizela and their men of goodwill taught us all a further lesson.

I hope that this wish for solidarity is maintained and keeps growing. Our times so demand.

Take care of our children; help them grow up with health and happiness.

Aid the families that do not give up fighting for a better future for the new generations.

Aid the needier and respond to situations of social emergency.

Shelter and support those of greater age.

Guarantee dignity in sickness by rendering quality health care and by aiding social and family reinsertion for those who are in situations of dependency.

These are some of the features of the noble mission materialized day after day by the Vizela Holy Almshouse, for the honour and welfare of the people of this community.

Mister Mayor,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Portuguese have for long known about the Vizela Spa. The thermal baths embodied much in Vizela’s past, but they surely equally represent its future. Health tourism is one of our great potentials, and it makes a lot of sense to invest in this area.

Other locations in Portugal may enjoy good conditions, but surely none of them have better natural conditions than Vizela. Investment in the modernization and in diversifying the supply of thermal treatments to conquer new users must thus be a part of the economic and tourist priorities of the county.

Vizela stands out, anyway, for having been a pioneer in several areas. This is the case with the Vizela Paper Works, set up here in the 19th century, and of the clothing and footwear industries that continue having, until now, a fundamental relevance in the economy and that have fought for modernization, to compete and resist in difficult times.

Symbolized by productive and entrepreneurial tradition, Vizela must take advantage of its strategic location, of industrial concentration, to promote partnerships and invest in new products, in new materials, in creativity, in design, in image, in its own labels.

We can only achieve success by investing in knowledge, in the development of new techniques, in product diversification, in the excellence of execution, in the quality of customer support.

Municipalities naturally carry out a crucial role in these very demanding times. It is their duty to promote their regions, to encourage entrepreneurialism, to facilitate the setting up of industrial activities and to create competitive conditions to draw investment.

In this region, which is amongst the youngest and with greatest population density in the Country, which is characterized by its entrepreneurial dynamism, I am certain that cooperation amongst companies, social institutions, employers’ associations and local and national authorities will bear fruit, within these paths that represent the conditions leading to a better future for us all.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have just listened to the performance of the Band of the Vizela Philharmonic Society that, in January of this year, sang the Christmas Carols in the Palace of Belém and which impressed everyone by the quality of its music and the youth of its members.

It is a pleasure to view the dedication and the drive of the youngsters who mirror the soul of their counties.

Inspired by the talent and vitality of the younger people, but also by the example bequeathed by the elders, I wish you all good fortune, hoping that Vizela continues materializing its dreams, in craving, in union and in the spirit of solidarity.

To the Holy Almshouse and to all those who render it service, my congratulations on the celebration of its centenary.

Thank you for all you have done!