EnglishConvent of Saint Catherine
Safi [Safim, Çafi], North Africa, Marocco
Religious Architecture
Besides Safi Cathedral there is mention of the existence of a Franciscan convent in the city, dedicated to Saint Catherine. It must have been a work of reasonable dimensions, as, according to the letters exchanged with the Portuguese monarch, it could house from six to eight friars; in 1514 a great part of it must have already been built, although it was still under construction in 1517.
In 1938, Joseph Goulven found at numbers 79 and 81 of Rue Dar Benito a series of architectural elements that by the characteristics he describes, would have belonged to a Portuguese religious structure. Much later, in 2000, in his work devoted to Portuguese architecture in Morocco, Pedro Dias, based on the old images and works by J. Goulven and P. A. Evin, confirmed the location of this convent. The elements he unearthed and described seem to make sense as it was still possible to identify the springers of the rib beams and a side chapel with crossed arches. The description and pictures seem to point to a structure at least as imposing as the Cathedral and probably executed by the same master, considering the similarities of elements such as the mouldings.
Unfortunately, the remnants of the convent are part of the private house of a local resident and, with the passing of time it has decayed and the marks of its Portuguese origin are being lost.
Goulven also raises the hypothesis that there was another chapel, also of Portuguese origin, in the so-called Rue des Marchés, although he was not able to identify it.