Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos

Sanctuary Of Bom Jesus Do Congonhas, UNESCO World Heritage Site Inscribed 1985; With Aleijadinho'S Twelve Soapstone Prophets · Congonhas, Minas Gerais

The Sanctuary of Bom Jesus de Matosinhos in Congonhas, a mining town about 80 kilometres south of Belo Horizonte, holds the masterpiece of Brazilian baroque art. On the terrace and stairway in front of the church stand twelve Old Testament prophets carved in soapstone by Aleijadinho, the great sculptor of colonial Minas Gerais, in the last years of the eighteenth and first of the nineteenth century, when a disease had left him severely disabled. Below them, six small chapels climb the hill, each holding a scene from the Passion of Christ with life-size figures carved in cedar by Aleijadinho and his workshop and painted by others. The ensemble was one of the first sites in Brazil listed by UNESCO, in 1985. The church began as a pilgrimage shrine in the 1750s and still draws pilgrims at the Jubilee each September. A modern museum explains the work. The town itself is industrial and plain; the sanctuary is the reason to come, usually as a stop between Belo Horizonte and Ouro Preto or Tiradentes.

Praça da Basílica, Congonhas, MG, Congonhas, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The twelve prophets stand outdoors on the church terrace and can be seen at any reasonable hour, which makes an early or late visit easy. The basilica and the six Passion chapels open daily in daytime hours, but the chapels are small, their doors are sometimes closed or the figures viewed only through grilles, and the church interior is closed to sightseeing during Masses. The Museu de Congonhas, a modern building next to the sanctuary, keeps daytime hours and is usually closed on Mondays, which catches out travellers passing through on a Monday between Ouro Preto and Tiradentes. Lunchtime closures are possible at the church. The Jubilee of Bom Jesus takes place over roughly two weeks in September, with processions, fairs and crowds, when the site is at its most alive but parking is hard and quiet viewing impossible. Confirm current museum days and church opening locally before building a day around them.

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