Chapel of Our Lady of Help

Chapel of Our Lady of Help
Capela de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda
Chapel of Our Lady of Help, Salvador
Location of the Chapel of Our Lady of Help in Brazil
Basic information
Geographic coordinates 12°58′34″S 38°30′47″W / 12.975979°S 38.512960°W / -12.975979; -38.512960
Affiliation Catholic
Rite Roman
Municipality Salvador
State Bahia
Country Brazil
Heritage designation 1938
Ownership Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia
Architectural description
Architect(s) Julio Conti
Architectural style Neo-Manueline
Completed 1932
Elevation 110.5 m (363 ft)
Designated 1938
Reference no. 122
Statue of Manuel da Nóbrega (1517-1570)

The Chapel of Our Lady of Help (Portuguese: Capela de Nossa Senhora da Ajuda, Capela da Ajuda) is a 20th-century Roman Catholic church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. It sits on the site of a church of the same name built by the Jesuits in 1549, one of the first in Brazil. The present church was designed by the Italian architect Julio Conti in the Neo-Manueline style and consecrated in 1932. It is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia. The Chapel of Our Lady of Help was listed as a historic structure by National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN) in 1938 and is part of the Historic Center of Salvador UNESCO World Heritage Site.[1][2][3]

History

The first Jesuits arrived in Brazil in the Armada of the first Governor-General, Tomé de Souza. The Jesuits built the first Chapel of Our Lady of Help in 1549 under the supervision of Manuel da Nóbrega (1517-1570). It was a simple structure with thatched roof, and was built as part of the construction of the city of Salvador, and was located inside the enclosure of the upper city of Salvador, which at time was surrounded by a palisade for the protection of the settlers. The church was dedicated to Our Lady of Help, which was the name of one of the ships of the fleet of Tomé de Sousa.[2][3]

In addition to serving the Jesuits, the church served as a parish headquarters; Manuel Lourenço as the first priest of the parish. With the creation of the Diocese of Bahia in 1551, the bishop Dom Pedro Fernandes Sardinha (1496-1556) settled in close vicinity to the church. Both Diocese and the Jesuits began to occupy a pieces of land outside the walls of the city later in the 16th century; the bishops erected a cathedral proper, and the Jesuits constructed a separate college and church.[2][3]

Chapel of Our Lady of Help had to be rebuilt by the mid-16th century; a structure of stone and lime was completed in 1579. A commemorative inscription was found with the date during a renovation in 1877. The chapel remained the property of the Jesuits until their expulsion from Brazil in 1759. The church was then abandoned. It remained in disuse until 1823, when it was transferred to a religious brotherhood, the Irmandade do Senhor do Bom Jesus do Passos e Vera Cruz (Brotherhood of the Lord of Bom Jesus do Passos and Vera Cruz). The colonial-period church was demolished in 1912 under the direction of Archbishop Jerônimo Tomé da Silva during a large-scale urban reform of Salvador.[2][3]

The present Chapel of Our Lady of Help was constructed to the front of the footprint of the old structure. It was designed by the Italian architect Júlio Conti and opened in 1932. A bust of Father Manuel da Nóbrega was placed in front of the church in the same year.[2][3]

Structure

Interior

The interior of the Chapel of Our Lady of Help is home to numerous colonial-period altars. The wood pulpit dates to the 17th century; António Vieira, the Portuguese Jesuit preacher and writer, gave several sermons from the same pulpit. The walls and ceilings are decorated with paintings by Oreste Sercille and his son Bruno Sercille.

Protected status

The Chapel of Our Lady of Help was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1938. It was listed in the Book of Historical Works no. 121.[3]

References

  1. ↑ Bresciani, Carlos (2009). "Os edifícios do Colégio dos Jesuítas em Salvador/Bahia ao longo dos anos 1549 a 1760" (PDF). Revista do Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia. 104: 269-.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Carrazzoni, Maria, ed. (1980). Guia dos bens tombados (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro, RJ: EXPED-Expansão Editorial. p. 65. ISBN 9788520800577.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Capela da Ajuda (Salvador, BA)" (in Portuguese). Brasília, Brazil: IPHAN. 2017. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
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