Imaculado Coração de Maria 2.9

Imaculado Coração de Maria is a civil parish in the municipality of Funchal in the archipelago of Madeira. Imaculado Coração de Maria, which is Portuguese for The Immaculate Heart of Mary, is a suburb of Funchal. The population in 2011 was 6,207, in an area of 1.36 km².HistoryAt the end of the 20th century, the growth of Funchal along the Ribeira de Santa Luzia and along the Monte Railway (which linked Funchal until Terreiro da Luta) caused the growth in settlement along the rural roadways, forcing the creation of new industries and further settlement. Meanwhile, along the coast of Funchal, new groups of residential and leisure-related activities, with parks and exotic gardens began to progressively replace older rural activities. With the occupation of lower Funchal by factories, the zones of habitation began to progressively appear around Funchal, forming new nodes of new activity. In 1940, the city of Funchal underwent a profound renovation, spearheaded by Dr. Fernão Ornelas, that resulted in a modernization of the infrastructures to complement the tourist industry; there was new construction, alterations to improve accessibility, the paving of new roadways, new administrative buildings, hotels and waterworks to support the increasing number of services along the coast.Imaculado Coração de Maria was one of the emerging communities around central Funchal. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the faith community had shown their devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, especially with the residency of Charles I of Austria, who was a devotee and who would later die while in exile (February 1922).On 26 November 1954, Imaculado Coração de Maria was elevated to the status of civil parish, due to the significant demographic increases.