The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady Assumption and Saint Paul (), also known as the See Cathedral (), is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Paulo,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. Its current and seventh

metropolitan archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

is Dom Odilo Pedro Cardinal Scherer, appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

on March 21, 2007, and installed on April 29 of the same year. The existing cathedral's construction, in a Gothic revival style, began in 1913 and ended four decades later. It was ready for its dedication on the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the then humble villa of São Paulo by Chief or Cacique Tibiriçá and the Jesuit priests Manuel da Nóbrega and José de Anchieta. Despite its Renaissance-style dome, the São Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral is considered by some to be the fourth largest neo-Gothic cathedral in the world.

History

The history of the Cathedral of São Paulo goes back in time to 1589, when it was decided that a main church (the ''Matriz'') would be built in the small village of São Paulo. This church, located on the site of the present cathedral, was only finished around 1616. São Paulo became seat of a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, 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 Roman province, prov ...

in 1745, and the old church was demolished and substituted by a new one, built in

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style, which was finished around 1764. This modest church would be the Cathedral of São Paulo until 1911, when it was demolished. The present cathedral was built under Duarte Leopoldo e Silva, the first

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 archdi ...

of São Paulo. Construction began in 1913 on the demolished colonial cathedral site following the project of German architect Maximilian Emil Hehl, who designed a

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

structure. Work proceeded slowly, and the inauguration of the new Cathedral happened only in 1954, with the towers still unfinished, but in time for São Paulo's Fourth

Centenary A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century. Notable events Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: * Centennial Exhibition, 1876, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

celebration. The towers would only be completed in 1967. After a long period of decay, the cathedral underwent a complete renovation between 2000 and 2002. Apart from repairing the building, many pinnacles over the nave and towers were completed. The original 1912 construction plans were found inside the building, allowing for a faithful restoration.

The building

The cathedral is the largest Catholic Church in the city of São Paulo and second largest after the Pentecostal Templo de Salomão: 111 meters long, 46 meters wide, with the two flanking towers reaching a height of 92 meters. Its site area is 5,300 square meters, and its floor area is 6,700 square meters. The cathedral is a Latin cross church with a five-

aisle An aisle is a linear space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, in buildings such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parliaments, courtrooms, ...

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 ...

and a

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

that reaches 30 meters over the crossing. Although the building, in general, is Neo-Gothic, the dome is inspired by the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

dome of the Cathedral of Florence. It is located in the

Praça da Sé Praça da Sé ( English: '' See Square'') is a public space in São Paulo, Brazil. Considered as the city's central point, it is the point from where the distance of all roads passing through São Paulo are counted. The square was the location of ...

, or "See Square". The cathedral has a total capacity for 8,000 people. More than 800 tons of rare

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

were used in its completion. The inner capitals are decorated with sculpted Brazilian produce as

coffee Coffee is a beverage brewed from roasted, ground coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content, but decaffeinated coffee is also commercially a ...

branches,

pineapple The pineapple (''Ananas comosus'') is a Tropical vegetation, tropical plant with an edible fruit; it is the most economically significant plant in the family Bromeliaceae. The pineapple is indigenous to South America, where it has been culti ...

s, and native animals such as tatus --

armadillo Armadillos () are New World placental mammals in the order (biology), order Cingulata. They form part of the superorder Xenarthra, along with the anteaters and sloths. 21 extant species of armadillo have been described, some of which are dis ...

Crypt

The

crypt A crypt (from Greek κρύπτη (kryptē) ''wikt:crypta#Latin, crypta'' "Burial vault (tomb), vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, Sarcophagus, sarcophagi, or Relic, religiou ...

, located below the main

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, is very large and can be considered an underground church in its own right. It is decorated with

marble sculpture Marble has been the preferred material for stone monumental sculpture since ancient times, with several advantages over its more common geological "parent" limestone, in particular the ability to absorb light a small distance into the surface b ...

s by Francisco Leopoldo e Silva depicting the history of

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

and

St Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian priest, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known for his translation of the Bible i ...

. The crypt has the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

s of all

bishops A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

and

s of São Paulo. Of special note are the

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...

tombs of two important historical figures: Father Diogo Feijó and the cacique Tibiriçá. Feijó was

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

of Brazil during the infancy of Emperor Pedro II. Tibiriçá was the

cacique A cacique, sometimes spelled as cazique (; ; feminine form: ), was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, who were the Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles at the time of European cont ...

(chieftain) of the Guaianás tribe who, in the 16th century, welcomed the first

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

to the Piratininga Plateau and whose aid made the foundation of São Paulo possible. In 2004, the human remains of

Bartolomeu de Gusmão Bartolomeu Lourenço de Gusmão (December 1685 – 18 November 1724) was a Portuguese priest and naturalist from Colonial Brazil who was a pioneer of lighter-than-air aerostat design, being among the first scholars at that time to understand the ...

(1685–1724), a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

from the former Portuguese colony of

and

innovator Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...

lighter-than-air A lifting gas or lighter-than-air gas is a gas that has a density lower than normal atmospheric gases and rises above them as a result, making it useful in lifting lighter-than-air aircraft. Only certain lighter-than-air gases are suitable as lift ...

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

design, were transferred to the crypt.

Organ

The cathedral's

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

, built in 1954 by the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

firm Balbiani Vegezzi-Bossi, is one of the largest in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. It has five keyboards, 329 stops, 120 registers, and 12,000 pipes, the mouths of which display hand-engraved reliefs in Gothic style.

Carillon

The east tower contains a

carillon A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...

of 61 bells, cast by the Petit & Fritsen bellfoundry of the Netherlands and installed in 1959. It is the largest and heaviest carillon in Central and South America.

Window Frames

The window frames were made in

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, 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 coo ...

, by a stonework company called Palici-Baccaro, founded by family members of Italian immigrants in the 1940s, having as partners Angelo Palici and João Baccaro, located at Oratório street, near Fernando Falcão street, region of the Mooca, São Paulo, Brazil, that later would give origin to Baccaro Marbles and Granites, traditional company in the local market.

Photo Gallery

File:Projecto da Nova Cathedral de S. Paulo - Fachada da Frente - Escala 1-200 - Cathedral de S. Paulo - Fachada de Frente - 1, Acervo do Museu Paulista da USP (cropped).jpg File:At São Paulo, Brazil 2019 303.jpg, Both towers of the cathedral. File:Praça da se 01.jpg, The cathedral's right tower. File:At São Paulo, Brazil 2019 068.jpg, Side altar with a Saint Paul mosaic File:Sao Paulo Cathedral-2.JPG File:Catedral da Sé São Paulo 2019-1624.jpg File:At São Paulo, Brazil 2019 074.jpg, Crypt File:At São Paulo, Brazil 2019 152.jpg, Main altar File:Cathedral da Sé.jpg

References

External links

Renovation of São Paulo Cathedral in the ''Folha de S.Paulo'' newspaper.

Page of the cathedral in SkyscraperPage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sao Paulo Cathedral Christian bell towers Carillons Sao Paulo Roman Catholic churches in São Paulo Central Zone of São Paulo Roman Catholic churches completed in 1967 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Brazil Tourist attractions in São Paulo 1913 establishments in Brazil Gothic Revival church buildings in Brazil Cathedrals in São Paulo Roman Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of São Paulo