The Candelária Church ( pt, Igreja da Candelária, ) is an important historical
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
church in the city of
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
, in southeastern
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. It was built and decorated during a long period, from 1775 to the late 19th century. The church combines a
Portuguese colonial Baroque façade
A façade () (also written facade) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loan word from the French (), which means ' frontage' or ' face'.
In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important aspect ...
with later
Neoclassical and
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...
interior elements.
History
The quasi-legendary history about the establishment of the church is that in the beginning of the 17th century a ship called ''Candelária'' almost sank during a storm on the sea. Upon arriving in Rio de Janeiro, a Portuguese couple, António Martins Palma and Leonor Gonçalves sponsored the building of a small chapel, fulfilling the
oath
Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to g ...
they made during the storm. This small chapel, dedicated to ''Our Lady of Candelária'', was built around 1609.
In the second half of the 18th century, as the ancient chapel was in need of repair,
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
military engineer Francisco João Roscio was put in charge of the project of a new, larger building. The works started in 1775 and the church – still unfinished – was inaugurated in 1811 in the presence of
King John VI of Portugal
, house = Braganza
, father = Peter III of Portugal
, mother = Maria I of Portugal
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Queluz Palace, Queluz, Portugal
, death_date =
, death_place = Bemposta Palace, Lisbon, Portugal
...
, who at the time was in Rio with the whole Portuguese court. From this early period (1775–1811) the splendid main façade was built in
Baroque style with
neoclassical elements. The interior of the church was, however, greatly modified afterwards, as the
floorplan
In architecture and building engineering, a floor plan is a technical drawing to scale, showing a view from above, of the relationships between rooms, spaces, traffic patterns, and other physical features at one level of a structure.
Dimensio ...
was changed from a one-
aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...
d to a three-aisled
nave
The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
.
Enslaved people were baptised in the church, including Rosa Egipcíaca, the first black woman to write a book in Brazil. The book was a religious text revealing her visions, and was entitled ''
Sagrada Teologia do Amor Divino das Almas Peregrinas Sagrada is a Spanish word meaning "sacred".
It may refer to:
*Sagrada, Missouri, a community in the United States
* La Sagrada Família, a church in Barcelona, Spain
*Rhamnus purshiana
''Frangula purshiana'' (cascara, cascara buckthorn, cascara ...
.
''
Around 1856 the stone roofs of the aisles were completed, but the
dome over the
crossing was still unfinished. The dome would only be completed in 1877 after the intervention of several architects and much discussion and planning. The dome and its eight statues were made in white ''Lioz'' stone, in
Lisbon, and brought to Brazil by ship. When finished, the dome of the Candelária was the tallest structure in the city.
Interior
After 1878 the interior of the Candelária church started being redesigned, in the
Neo-Renaissance
Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th century architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival but which instead drew inspiration from a wide range ...
style. The walls and columns were covered with Italian marble of various colours, and abundant sculptural relief decoration. Brazilian painter
João Zeferino da Costa was commissioned to paint the nave and inner part of the dome. On the ceiling of the main aisle, Zeferino da Costa and his assistants painted six panels telling the history of the church.
Other elements of interest include: the main altar by Brazilian architect Archimedes Memória; the various German
stained-glass windows; the
bronze doors (c. 1901) of the main entrance, by Portuguese sculptor
António Teixeira Lopes; and the two monumental bronze
pulpits in the
Art-Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
style, by Portuguese sculptor Rodolfo Pinto do Couto (1931).
Architecture
The Candelária church is a
Latin cross
A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...
church with a
dome over the
transept
A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...
. The nave has three
aisle
An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, par ...
s and a main chapel in the
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
. The whole ensemble may have been inspired by the church at the
Convent of Mafra, and in the ''Estrela Basílica'' of
Lisbon, both in Portugal.
Façade
The main façade shows
Baroque influences in the design of the windows, doors, and towers, as well as
neoclassical influences in the bi-dimensionality of the façade and the triangular
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedim ...
. The façade contrasts the dark
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
of windows, columns and other elements with
whitewash
Whitewash, or calcimine, kalsomine, calsomine, or lime paint is a type of paint made from slaked lime (calcium hydroxide, Ca(OH)2) or chalk calcium carbonate, (CaCO3), sometimes known as "whiting". Various other additives are sometimes used.
...
ed wall segments, a typical characteristic of colonial churches in Rio.
Events
The church has been the site of several significant moments in the contemporary history of Brazil, such as the memorial mass of high school student
Edson Luís de Lima Souto
Edson Luís de Lima Souto (; February 24, 1950 – March 28, 1968) was a Brazilian teenage student killed by the military police of Rio de Janeiro after a confrontation in the restaurant Calabouço (), in downtown Rio de Janeiro. Edson was one o ...
, and the ''
Diretas Já
Diretas Já (, ''Direct (Elections) Now'') was a civil unrest movement which, in 1984, demanded direct presidential elections in Brazil.
Participants of the movement
The movement brought together diverse elements of Brazilian society. Participa ...
'' campaign for popular direct presidential elections attended by over a million people in 1984.
The area around the church was the site of the
Candelária massacre
The Candelária massacre ( pt, chacina da Candelária ) was a mass killing in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 23, 1993. During the night, eight homeless people, including six minors, were killed by a group of men beside the Candelária Church. S ...
of July 23, 1993, which brought worldwide attention to the issue of
police brutality toward street children in Brazil.
The official cauldron for the
2016 Summer Olympics was placed in a plaza outside the church.
Gallery
File:Bertichem 1856 Igreja da Candelária.jpg, Candelária Church in 1856.
File:Igreja da Candelária.jpg, Facade
File:Igreja da Candelária - Altar.jpg, Altar
File:Igreja da Candelária Teto do altar e cúpula.jpg, Ceiling of the altar and dome.
File:Cúpula da Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Candelária no Rio de Janeiro.jpg, Dome
File:Teto da Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Candelária no Rio de Janeiro.jpg, Ceiling of the Church.
File:Igreja da Candelária - Arco da nave.jpg, Arch of the nave.
File:Igreja da Candelária - Anjo sob o pulpito.jpg, Sculpture beneath the pulpit.
File:Igreja da Candelária - Cruz de indulgência.jpg, Cross of Indulgence
File:Igreja da Candelária - Placa.jpg, Plaque
File:Igreja_da_Candelaria_4.JPG, External view of the dome.
File:Candelaria Church-1.JPG, Ancient doors
See also
*
Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria
The Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria or simply La Candelaria Church, as it is more popularly known, is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title of Virgin of Candelaria. It is located in the center of the city of Medel ...
(Medellín, Colombia)
*
Basilica of Candelaria
The Basilica of the Royal Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Candelaria ( es, Basílica y Real Santuario Mariano de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria or simply ''Basílica de la Candelaria'') is a Roman Catholic minor basilica, the first Marian shrine ...
(Tenerife, Spain)
*
Sé Catedral de Nossa Senhora da Candelária (Bissau, Guinea-Bissau)
References
* ''Guia da Arquitetura Colonial, Neoclássica e Romântica no Rio de Janeiro''. Editora Casa da Palavra. 2000. (in Portuguese)
* Introduction to the colonial architecture of Rio de Janeiro (in Portuguese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candelaria Church
Roman Catholic churches in Rio de Janeiro (city)
Roman Catholic churches in Brazil
18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Brazil
19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Brazil
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1877
Baroque church buildings in Brazil
Church buildings with domes
Portuguese colonial architecture in Brazil
National heritage sites of Rio de Janeiro (state)
1609 establishments in the Portuguese Empire
Neoclassical church buildings in Brazil