Our Lady of Navigators church, Gothic Revival parish church in Porto Alegre, Brazil

Our Lady of Navigators is a parish church in Porto Alegre with a simplified Gothic Revival design: a single central tower, two side aisles with a series of flying buttresses, small pinnacles and pilasters on the exterior. Above the entrance door is a bas-relief of the Virgin saving shipwrecked sailors. Inside, three naves are simply decorated, with a large crucifix to the left of the entrance, a choir, stained-glass windows and the patroness's image in the high altar.

Construction began in 1875 after a local landowner donated property for establishing a dedicated religious building. The timing of this construction reflects the growing devotion to this patroness among Porto Alegre residents during the late 19th century.

The February 2 feast begins in mid-January and ends with a procession carrying the image from the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary to this church. Since the 1920s devotees of Iemanjá have joined, and eating watermelon, a fruit linked to the orixá, became a tradition. The city declared the feast intangible heritage in 2010.

The church welcomes visitors throughout the week and maintains regular mass schedules. Check the opening times before your visit to ensure you arrive when the doors are open and the space is accessible.

The bas-relief over the main doorway shows the Virgin saving the shipwrecked, a rare sculptural detail on a church otherwise decorated with simplicity inside. The 1913 statue in the high altar, carved by João Afonseca Lapa, is a replacement for the image lost in the 1910 fire, which consumed the second chapel along with the parish archives.