Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida

National Shrine Of Brazil And Basilica Of The Patron Saint Of Brazil; One Of The Largest Churches In The World, Consecrated 1980 · Aparecida, São Paulo

The Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida is the national shrine of Brazil and one of the largest churches in the world, a vast brick basilica in the Paraíba valley between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro that receives pilgrims from every corner of the country, numbering in the millions each year. It houses a small, dark terracotta statue of the Virgin that fishermen pulled from the Paraíba River in their nets in 1717, and Our Lady of Aparecida became the patron saint of Brazil; her feast day, 12 October, is a national holiday. The basilica, built from the 1950s and consecrated in 1980, can hold tens of thousands of people, and its interior has been covered with vast mosaics and tile work in recent decades. Around it stretch car parks for coaches, a huge covered market, a room filled with votive offerings from people who believe their prayers were answered, and a cable car to a hilltop viewpoint. For a visitor it is less about architecture than about seeing Brazilian popular Catholicism at its biggest, most devout and most commercial, all at once.

Avenida Doutor Júlio Prestes, Aparecida, SP, Aparecida, São Paulo, Brazil

The basilica opens every day of the year from early morning until the evening, and entry is free. Masses run one after another through the day, with the largest on Sundays, so there is almost always a service going on somewhere in the building; you can walk the aisles and reach the statue between and around them. The tower viewpoint, the museum and the cable car keep shorter daytime hours of their own and charge separately, and they can close early in bad weather or for maintenance. The day that ruins plans is 12 October, the feast day and a national holiday: the town fills to bursting, the highways carry pilgrims on foot for days beforehand, and hotels are booked months ahead. Long weekends and Catholic holy days are nearly as busy. Confirm the Mass schedule and the attraction hours with the shrine before travelling.

Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida on Spottos · Explore more places on Spottos