On December 5, 2025, in the Lower Choir of Palácio da Conceição, in Ponta Delgada, took place the ceremony for the awarding of European Geographical Indication (GI) Certification Seals for the Registos of Sr. Sto. Cristo dos Milagres to the first 10 artisans with registered activity in this area at the Azores Handicrafts and Design Center (CADA). This award was only possible thanks to the work developed by the Regional Secretariat for Youth, Housing and Employment (SRJHE), through CADA.

Among others, the Regional Secretary for Youth, Housing and Employment, Dr. Maria João Carreiro, Dr. Alexandra Andrade, Coordinator of the Azores Handicrafts and Design Center, and the artisans who received their certificates were present. Quoting Maria João Carreiro, “We moved forward with this Certification in the conviction of the possibility it offers for the protection and recognition of a know-how that carries within it the cultural, historical and social richness of a people and a territory,” (…) “The GI certification is an opportunity for artisans and consumers, in terms of raising awareness of the consumption of authentic products, protecting production methods and techniques rooted in cultural and social heritage, strengthening the competitiveness of artisanal or legal production companies in the European space.”

The GI Certification seeks to preserve the characteristics, quality, and identity of the handcrafted product, but also to highlight its origin, history, and the hands that make it, and it is this combination that makes each handcrafted piece unique and offers the buyer an irrefutable guarantee of its production.

As is the case with Registos of Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres, in addition to being a religious handcrafted product, they are a physical and identity representation of the inhabitants and devotees of the island of São Miguel. The national entity accredited to certify artisanal products with the GI Certification seal is a.Certifica, which was represented by Executive Director Dr. Teresa Costa and Dr. Diana Barbosa. In her speech, Teresa Costa highlighted the fact that the Azores have enormous potential in terms of GI Certification. The EUIPO – European Union Intellectual Property Office – joined the event in the person of Dr. João Negrão - the Executive Director, who could not be present, but made a point of sending a congratulatory message for the initiative of certifying the second artisanal product with the GI seal (the first being Violas da Terra from the Azores, in 2024). The National Institute of Industrial Property (INPI) was also represented by Dr. João Amaral – Director of Legal Services and External Relations.

The event concluded with a musical performance by the Johann Sebastian Bach choir interpreting the Hymn of the Senhor Santo Cristo dos Milagres.