Candelária Church

Igreja N.S. da Candelária,
Rio De Janeiro
Southwest Brazil
Brazil
(21) 2233-2324

Type: Religious Site
Hours: Hours: Mon-Fri, 8 am-4 pm; Sat-Sun, 8 am-noon.

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Take the elevator down and continue along Rua São Bento to Av. 1 de Março (First of March), which wends its way through this historic district. You’ll soon find yourself at Praça Pio X (Plaza Pius 10) and Candelária Church (Igreja N.S. da Candelária). When it was built, the church was at the waterfront, but landfill projects have since added several streets along the shoreline. From docks here, ferries and hydrofoils leave for Niterói, Paquetá and Fiscal Island. Candelária Church has a wonderful story to tell. In the late 16th century, Antônio Martin Palma, a ship captain, was nearly shipwrecked during a violent storm. He promised Our Lady of Candelária that, if she saved him, he would build a church in her honor. He survived and built his rustic church with its main doors facing the sea, rather than the plaza, as is traditional. It became known as a mariner’s church. A century later, in 1775, a new church was designed for this location and, when it was dedicated in 1811, the Prince Regent attended the ceremony. It has been remodeled twice since then, though the 1775 façade remains. The layout is in the form of a Latin Cross and the interior is covered with marble, uncommon here since most Portuguese churches use engraved woods. The dome, the church's most striking feature, is built of limestone shipped from Lisbon and added in 1877. Other striking features are the stained glass windows, the tooled bronze doors made in France and the ceiling murals that trace thehistory of Candelária. The church has so much appeal that many society weddings are held here. There are also musical events.