Balazar
Balazar is one of the seven parishes of the municipality of Póvoa de Varzim. The population in 2011 was 2,543, in an area of 11.61 km².
Each year thousands of pilgrims and many other tourists visit the Sanctuary of Blessed Alexandrina of Balazar.
History
It was an ecclesiastical parish in Barcelos until 1836, when it became a civil unit and transferred to Póvoa de Varzim. In 1853 it was transferred to Vila Nova de Famalicão, but Póvoa de Varzim town hall requested its return and it was transferred back to Póvoa two years later.The parish became famous in 2004, after the beatification of Alexandrina Maria da Costa by Pope John Paul II, on April 25 of that year. Pilgrimages to the parish church where Alexandrina's body rests were already common, and became more popular. The church is contemplating whether to make a shrine to Alexandrina, depending on the number of pilgrims and if she is declared a saint.