The traditional pilgrimage of Nossa Senhora da Cola takes place on September 7 and 8 in Ourique, coinciding with the municipal holiday, and hundreds of devotees are expected at this event promoted by the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Ourique, with support from the City Hall and various partnerships. The program includes religious ceremonies and festivities, in a so-called "coexistence between the sacred and the profane".
On Monday, the 7th, the sanctuary hosts a dance with the duo Emanuel & Tânia at 8:00 PM and a performance by the Chave D'Ouro group at 11:00 PM. On Tuesday, the day of the municipal holiday, a solemn mass in honor of Nossa Senhora da Cola is scheduled at 11:00 AM, followed by a procession accompanied by the Grupo Coral de Ourique. At 2:00 PM, the choral groups of Ourique and the Children's Group of the Municipality take the stage, and at 2:30 PM there is a matinee with Luís Godinho.
The origin of the church of Nossa Senhora da Cola dates back to before the 16th century, with the current temple being a Baroque construction from the beginning of the 17th century, expanded at the end of the 18th century. The church remains as one of the main pilgrimage sites in the Baixo Alentejo.
On September 8, pilgrims come to fulfill promises and begin arriving at dawn or the day before. In the past, many women would walk on their knees to the church from the point where they first saw it, and there were also those who carried sacks of wheat on their heads, pouring the grain afterward into a crack in the wall of the granary attached to the temple.
