Madeira has one Roman Catholic Mass celebrated in English: 10.30am every Sunday at the Chapel of Penha de França, founded in 1622 and a short walk from the Funchal hotel district and the cruise quays. All denominations are welcome, and there is tea and coffee in the garden afterwards.
The Mass Is at 10.30am Every Sunday
The chapel is at Rua da Penha de França 3, 9000-014 Funchal, opposite the hotel of the same name, and the Mass is celebrated by Father Joseph, a Carmelite priest from Kerala who lives on the island. Check the time before you set an alarm: the chapel's own site at rcmassmadeira.org and the Diocese of Funchal's cathedral both give 10.30, while a few island listings still show 10.00.
It is an easy walk from either end of town. From the cruise quays, head towards Funchal as far as the roundabout, climb the steps on the left up to Rua da Penha de França, turn left at the top and the chapel is about 75 metres along. From the hotel district, come in along Estrada Monumental and cross the bridge past Reid's, then drop down Rua Imperatriz Dona Amélia and turn right at Moynihan's bar.
Travellers, Residents and a Cup of Tea in the Garden
All denominations are welcome at this Mass, and the chapel describes its Sunday morning as fellowship between travellers and residents of Madeira. A choir accompanies the hymns, with instrumental music from the sisters Cátia and Helena Marques. Visitors can volunteer to do one of the readings.
Afterwards, tea and coffee are served in the cottage at the bottom of the church gardens, and everyone is welcome to stay. Father Vitor's Portuguese Masses sit either side: 11.30am on Sunday, straight after the English one, and 6.30pm on Saturday.
The English Mass Began With One Priest's Trip to England
The English Mass arrived in 1966, when Father Rafael Andrade came back from his first visit to England and the Bishop asked him to start an English celebration. He led it for more than 30 years, until his other duties overlapped in 1999. The chapel around him was already old: António Dantas founded it in 1622 on a penha, a peak above the sea, and it drew pilgrims from all over the island.
Madeira then went eight years with no Catholic Mass in English at all. It returned on the first Sunday of Lent in 2007, and Father Bernardino Andrade, brought up on the island and a priest in Mozambique and California before he came home, took the Sunday slot until his death in 2024. Father Thomas covered during his illness and after it, and returned to India in April 2025.
Check the Calendar Before a Late Summer Sunday
The chapel closes for part of the year and the English Mass stops with it. In 2026 it shut on 16 August and reopened on 11 October, with nothing in between, so an August or September visit is worth checking first. If you want an English-language service that is not a Catholic Mass, Holy Trinity on Rua do Quebra Costa is Funchal's Church of England church, with Holy Communion at 11am on Sunday.
The congregation is making up Christmas hampers for the families supported by People Helping People, the charity founded at the chapel in 2010. Hygiene products and dried or tinned goods go in the hamper at the church entrance at the 10.30 Mass.
Turn up at 10.30 on Sunday and, whichever church you usually attend, the door is open.
