Rota Real
Air Base No. 5 Chapel
This chapel was ordered to be built in 1948 by the Minister of War, Lieutenant-Colonel Santos Costa, located next to Aviation Camp, in Serra do Porto de Urso.
On the day of its inauguration, it was blessed by the Bishop of Leiria, D. José Alves Correia da Silva, after which the first Mass was celebrated. The ceremony was attended by several ministers, all the civil and military authorities of Leiria, other prominent entities and many thousands of people.
The current chapel served the population of Serra do Porto d’Urso for many years, in sunday mass and in weddings. Currently, the place of worship is reserved for military personnel, family members and civilians who work in this Air Force unit.
Three times in its history, the chapel, a work with traces of Korrodi Filho, received the visit of a Pope: in May 1967, Pope Paul VI; in 1991, John Paul II and in May 2017, Pope Francis prayed in the chapel at the Base of Monte Real, whose patron saint is Nossa Senhora do Ar, before moving on to the
celebrations of the centenary of the Apparitions in Fátima. The passage of the Popes in the chapel is marked at the entrance, with three different plaques and, inside, with three kneelers, duly identified.