, native_name_lang = pt , image = Basilica of Aparecida - Aparecida 2014 (4).jpg , imagewidth = 230px , alt = , caption =

The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida The Cathedral Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida ( pt, Catedral Basílica do Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida) is a prominent Roman Catholic basilica in Aparecida, Brazil. It is dedicated to Our Lady Aparecida ...

in Aparecida It is the second largest church in the world, after St. Peter's Basilica in

Vatican City Vatican City (), officially the Vatican City State ( it, Stato della Città del Vaticano; la, Status Civitatis Vaticanae),—' * german: Vatikanstadt, cf. '—' (in Austria: ') * pl, Miasto Watykańskie, cf. '—' * pt, Cidade do Vati ...

. , abbreviation = , type = National polity , main_classification =

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, orientation =

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

, scripture =

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...

, theology =

Catholic theology Catholic theology is the understanding of Catholic doctrine or teachings, and results from the studies of theologians. It is based on Biblical canon, canonical Catholic Bible, scripture, and sacred tradition, as interpreted authoritatively by ...

, polity = Episcopal , governance = CNBB , structure = , leader_title =

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

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Francis Francis may refer to: People *Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State and Bishop of Rome * Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) Places *Rural ...

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President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

, leader_name1 =

Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo Walmor Oliveira de Azevedo (born 26 April 1954) is a prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as auxiliary bishop of São Salvador da Bahia from 1998 till 2004, when he became archbishop of Belo Horizonte. In 2010 he also became bishop ...

, leader_title2 =

Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

, leader_name2 =

Sérgio da Rocha Sérgio da Rocha (; born 21 October 1959) is a Brazilian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Archbishop of São Salvador da Bahia on 11 March 2020. Previously, he was the Archbishop of Brasília. Biography Da Rocha was born in Dob ...

, fellowships_type1 = , fellowships1 = , division_type = , division = , division_type1 = , division1 = , division_type2 = , division2 = , division_type3 = , division3 = , associations = , area =

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 ...

, language = Portuguese,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

, headquarters = , origin_link = , founded_date = c 1500 , founded_place =

Colonial Brazil Colonial Brazil ( pt, Brasil Colonial) comprises the period from 1500, with the arrival of the Portuguese, until 1815, when Brazil was elevated to a kingdom in union with Portugal as the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil and the Algarves. Dur ...

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the ...

, separated_from = , parent = , merger = , absorbed = , separations = Brazilian Catholic Apostolic Church , merged_into = , defunct = , congregations_type = , congregations = , members = 123 million - 127 million - 134 million - 140 million , ministers_type = , ministers = , missionaries = , churches = , hospitals = , nursing_homes = , aid = , primary_schools = , secondary_schools = , tax_status = , tertiary = , other_names = , publications = , website
CNBB
, slogan = , logo = , footnotes = Catedral da Sé em São Paulo

The Brazilian Catholic Church, or Catholic Church in Brazil, is part of the worldwide

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

, under the spiritual leadership of the

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, and the influential National Conference of Bishops of Brazil ( pt, Conferência Nacional dos Bispos do Brasil - CNBB), composed of over 400 primary and auxiliary bishops and

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdio ...

s. There are over 250

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associ ...

s (both of the Latin and Eastern rites) and other territorial jurisdictions in Brazil. The

primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...

of Brazil is Dom Sérgio da Rocha. The Catholic Church is the largest denomination in the country, where 123 million people, or 64.6% of the Brazilian population, are self-declared Catholics. tp://ftp.ibge.gov.br/Censos/Censo_Demografico_2010/Caracteristicas_Gerais_Religiao_Deficiencia/tab1_4.pdf censo 2010. Retrieved 5 April 2012. These figures make Brazil the single country with the largest Catholic community in the world.Country Studies
"Brazil - Roman Catholicism"
source: Rex A. Hudson, ed. ''Brazil: A Country Study''. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1997.Scalon, Maria Celi
"Catholics and Protestants in Brazil"
''America Magazine''. 18 August 2003.

History

According to the tradition, the first

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different ele ...

celebrated in Brazil took place on 26 April 1500. It was celebrated by a priest who arrived in the country along with the Portuguese explorers to claim possession of the newfound land. The first diocese in Brazil was erected more than 50 years later, in 1551. Brazil's strong Catholic heritage can be traced to the Iberian missionary zeal, with the 15th-century goal of spreading Christianity. The Church missions began to hamper the government policy of exploiting the natives. In 1782 the

Jesuits , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders = ...

were suppressed, and the government tightened its control over the Church. Catholicism was the predominant faith during colonial rule, then in 1824 became the

official religion A state religion (also called religious state or official religion) is a religion or creed officially endorsed by a sovereign state. A state with an official religion (also known as confessional state), while not secular, is not necessarily a th ...

of an independent Brazil which also guaranteed

freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance. It also includes the freedo ...

for its citizens. The Brazilian government has been secular since the Constitution of 1891 and the Church has remained politically influential. In the late 19th century, the Catholic population of Iberian origin was reinforced by a large number of Italian Catholics who immigrated to Brazil, as well as some Polish and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Catholic immigrants. In 1889 Brazil became a republic and approved a constitution separating the Church from the State, a trend followed by all of the country's seven republican constitutions. Prior to that, during the

Empire of Brazil The Empire of Brazil was a 19th-century state that broadly comprised the territories which form modern Brazil and (until 1828) Uruguay. Its government was a representative parliamentary constitutional monarchy under the rule of Emperors Dom ...

, Catholicism was the official religion of the country. In practice, separation of Church and state in the country is weak as government officials generally avoid taking actions that may offend the Church which represents a large majority of citizens. A recent example of the Church's influence over political questions was the change conducted by the federal government in the Third National Program of Human Rights in regard to its proposal to legalize

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

, after pressure from the National Conference of Brazilian Bishops. Agência Brasil
“Para CNBB, mudanças no PNDH 3 revelam sensibilidade”
. ''iG Último Segundo''. 13 May 2010. That particular change, along with others, was denounced by the

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

. Nevertheless, the government kept issues contrary to Church teaching in the Program, such as its support for

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

and same-sex adoption. In the late 20th century the Church's liberation theology movement, which focuses on the poor as the primary recipients of

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

's message, helped in the quest for social justice.Almeida, Rodrigo
“Benedict XVI in Brazil: raising the Catholic flag”
Open Democracy. 8 May 2007. The church organized ecclesiastical base communities throughout the country to work for social and political causes at the local level. Despite the support of the higher clergy for the military, the progressive wing managed to make the Church practically the only legitimate focus of resistance and defense of basic

human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...

during military rule, as well as a main advocate for social rights and human dignity in the Constitutional Assembly of 1987–1988. When then Cardinal Ratzinger became responsible for the

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF) is the oldest among the departments of the Roman Curia. Its seat is the Palace of the Holy Office in Rome. It was founded to defend the Catholic Church from heresy and is the body responsib ...

, he launched a successful campaign against the liberation theology, and the conservative wing of the Church gained power. Catholics then saw the rise of the

Catholic Charismatic Renewal The Catholic Charismatic Renewal is a movement within the Catholic Church that is part of the wider charismatic movement across historic Christian churches. The Renewal has been described as a "current of grace". It began in 1967 when Cath ...

movement, as a way to counter the rapid growth of

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

in the country. According to Luis Lugo, director of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, “pentecostalism no longer is something confined outside the Catholic Church, it is now firmly within the form of various charismatic tendencies and movements”. During his five-day visit to Brazil in May 2007 Pope Benedict XVI canonized

Frei Galvão Anthony of St. Ann Galvão, O.F.M. ( pt, Antônio de Sant'Anna Galvão, ), commonly known in Brazil as Frei (Friar) Galvão (; May 13, 1739 – December 23, 1822), was a Brazilian friar of the Franciscan Order. One of the best-known religious fi ...

, who became the first Brazilian-born saint. Both the Pope's visit and the canonisation aimed at reinvigorating the local church. Brazil was also the first foreign country visited by Benedict's successor

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

Demographics

According to a 2007 poll conducted by the Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion & Public Life, more than 60 percent of the urban population of Brazil claims a Catholic affiliation. A 2020 poll by

Datafolha Datafolha is Grupo Folha's polling institute, founded in 1983 as the research department of Empresa Folha da Manhã S. A., and later on became a separate company able to serve external clients, from 1990. In 1995, it became a separate business uni ...

suggests that the Catholic population is closer to 50 percent of the country and decreasing, with Evangelical Protestant groups growing as a proportion.- 50% dos brasileiros são católicos, 31%, evangélicos e 10% não têm religião, diz Datafolha. 2020
Retrieved February 7, 2022. Religious

syncretism Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...

is widespread among Brazilian Catholics. There is an overlay of Afro-Brazilian religions (like

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman ...

, Quimbanda and

Umbanda Umbanda () is a syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion that blends traditional African religions with Roman Catholicism, Spiritism, and Indigenous American beliefs. Although some of its beliefs and most of its practices existed in the late 19th ce ...

) with Catholic beliefs and practices, which many Catholic Brazilians do not find inconsistent with their faith.Country Studie
"Brazil - Other Religions"
source: Rex A. Hudson, ed. ''Brazil: A Country Study''. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1997. An example is the Feast of Bonfim, a ritual in which mães-de-santo gather to wash the stairs of the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim in

Salvador, Bahia Salvador (English: ''Savior'') is a Brazilian municipality and capital city of the state of Bahia. Situated in the Zona da Mata in the Northeast Region of Brazil, Salvador is recognized throughout the country and internationally for its cuisi ...

. Catholics are far more likely to believe in good luck charms, fortune-tellers, faith-healers and

astrology Astrology is a range of divinatory practices, recognized as pseudoscientific since the 18th century, that claim to discern information about human affairs and terrestrial events by studying the apparent positions of celestial objects. Di ...

than are converts to Protestantism. Religious change in Brazil is frequent. According to polling institute

, as of July 2013, approximately 57% of those aged over 16 years old were Catholic, while evangelicals constituted 28%. According to ''America Magazine'' in 2003, Brazilian Catholics have the highest score in the world on the image of God as a loving Father. They are also more likely to see

human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

as good rather than corrupt, and the world as good rather than evil. Brazilian Catholics are less likely to believe in the literal, word-for-word interpretation of the

than Protestants. They are also more likely to accept premarital sex, cohabitation before marriage,

homosexuality Homosexuality is Romance (love), romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romant ...

and

. About 40% attend Masses at least once a month—approximately the same level as that of American Catholics. Almost 75% pray every day, but only 12% engage in Church activities; only 26% say they are "very religious". More than one out of five of those who were raised Catholics leave the church, most of them taking on no religious affiliation or

Protestantism Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. However, Catholicism has the highest rate of retention. More than two-fifths of those who were raised Protestant are no longer Protestant; the Catholic Church picks up 16% of those who were raised Protestants. By race, 66.4% of whites are Catholic, along with 58.2% of blacks, 59.9% of East Asians, 64.1% of browns, and 50.7% of American Indians.

Catholicism by state

Catholicism by state capitals

Education

As the largest Catholic country in the world, Catholic education has a great tradition in Brazil. The

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

founded the first schools in the country, with the aim of evangelizing Native-Brazilians. In the late 18th century, Portuguese minister Marquis of Pombal attacked and expelled the Jesuits from Portugal and its overseas possessions. He seized the Jesuit schools and introduced educational reforms all over the

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

. Since then, public schools have been secular, but private Catholic schools are among the best in the country. According to the Ministry of Education, there are more than 30 Catholic universities in Brazil. The first was the

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul ( pt, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS) is a private non-profit Catholic university. With campuses in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Viamão, it is the ...

, founded by

Marist Brothers The Marist Brothers of the Schools, commonly known as simply the Marist Brothers, is an international community of Catholic religious institute of brothers. In 1817, St. Marcellin Champagnat, a Marist priest from France, founded the Marist Brothe ...

on 1931. The

Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro ( pt, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, PUC-Rio) is a Jesuit, Catholic, pontifical university in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is the joint responsibility of the Catholic A ...

is the best private university in the country, and behind only the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in the State of Rio de Janeiro. The Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais had been chosen by the Ministry as the best private university, and the best in the state of

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

, the previous year. In 1969, the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo became the first higher education institute in Brazil to offer a post-graduation course."Uma história da PUC-SP"
(in Portuguese). PUC-SP official website. Retrieved 21 February 2010.

Organization

In Brazil, there are a total of 275 particular churches—consisting of 44 archdioceses, 216 dioceses (2 of which are Eastern rite eparchies under Latin jurisdiction), 9 territorial prelatures, the Archeparchy of São João Batista em Curitiba and the Eparchy of Imaculada Conceição in Prudentópolis under the

Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church , native_name_lang = uk , caption_background = , image = StGeorgeCathedral Lviv.JPG , imagewidth = , type = Particular church (sui iuris) , alt = , caption = St. George's ...

, the

Armenian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Latin America and Mexico The Armenian Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Latin America and Mexico (América Latina e México) is a pre-diocesan missionary jurisdiction of the Armenian Catholic Church ''sui iuris'' (Armenian Rite in Armenian language) in parts of Latin America. ...

, the Ordinariate for the Faithful of Eastern Rites in Brazil, the Military Ordinariate of Brazil, and the

Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney The Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney ( la, Administratio Apostolica Personalis Sancti Ioannis Mariae Vianney) was established on 18 January 2002 by Pope John Paul II for traditionalist Catholic clergy and laity wit ...

Notable people

Pedro I of Brazil Dom Pedro I (English: Peter I; 12 October 1798 – 24 September 1834), nicknamed "the Liberator", was the founder and first ruler of the Empire of Brazil. As King Dom Pedro IV, he reigned briefly over Portugal, where he also becam ...

Pedro II of Brazil Dom PedroII (2 December 1825 – 5 December 1891), nicknamed "the Magnanimous" ( pt, O Magnânimo), was the second and last monarch of the Empire of Brazil, reigning for over 58 years. He was born in Rio de Janeiro, the seventh child of Emp ...

* Princess Isabel * Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies *

Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis (), often known by his surnames as Machado de Assis, ''Machado,'' or ''Bruxo do Cosme Velho''Vainfas, p. 505. (21 June 1839 – 29 September 1908), was a pioneer Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short stor ...

References

External links

National Conference of Brazilian Bishops
{{South America in topic, Catholic Church in, groupstyle=background-color:gold, titlestyle=background-color:gold

Brazilian culture