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This paper is a reflection on a set of ten images and a Via Sacra conceived by the sculptor Altino Maia (1911-1988), between 1955 and 1957, for the new parish church of São Pedro da Afurada (Vila Nova de Gaia). The study addresses the images in several dimensions: artistic and iconographic, including ordering processes and creation; the anthropological, detailing the community's reception and reaction to these sculptures. Nine of the images were «hidden» in cabinets for long years, removed from the eyes of the faithful, received the popular and derogatory names of «Santos Pretos» or «Santos das Rodilhas» and were even victims of aggression attempts. The sculpture of the Crucified Christ was exhibited on the apse's back wall until 2021 and the Via Sacra continues to be displayed on the north wall of the parish church of São Pedro da Afurada. Based on the documentary and visual sources of the time and the testimony of some inhabitants of Afurada, this paper intends to analyze the circumstances of commissioning and artistic creation, developing an iconographic study of the images, contextualizing them in their time and to understand these object-images (in line with Jérôme Baschet) from an anthropological perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue 14 of the magazine "CEM" addresses the theme "Image and Devotion" and is part of the research conducted by the CITCEM Research Group "Material and Immaterial Heritage". The objective of this volume is to promote reflection on images and devotional practices. The exhibition "Moving Images: Devotions and Cultural Practices in Porto Cathedral" demonstrated the dynamics of configuration and reconfiguration of ecclesiastical space. The text discusses the existence of images of Our Lady in the 11th century, based on documentary evidence. The articles offer a comprehensive and detailed view of devotion and the representation of religious images in different contexts and historical periods. The article "The Devil is on the loose: the cult of Saint Bartholomew in Foz do Douro" addresses the relationship between cults and images of devotion and playful practices in Foz do Douro, including the tradition of holy baths. [Extracted from the article]