Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, Gothic Revival church in Canela, Brazil
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, popularly called Catedral de Pedra though it is not a cathedral, is an English Gothic Revival church on Praça da Matriz in Canela. Rough grey stone blocks form a facade with a 65-metre central tower bearing a white clock face, three lancet openings and a spire, flanked by two lower towers with tall pointed-arch windows. A steep gable holds three narrow windows above the pointed-arch entrance with its brown door and mosaic panel.
The church was built between 1953 and 1987, conceived by canon João Marchesi and designed by architect Bernardo Sartori in English Gothic style. Its 65-metre tower holds the Carrilhão da Independência, 12 bronze bells cast by the Giácomo Crespi foundry in Italy and installed in 1972; a structural problem left only three in use until repairs in 2005 restored the full carillon.
The church is popularly called the Catedral de Pedra (Stone Cathedral) even though it is a parish church, not a cathedral. Inside, three painted panels by the gaucho artist Marciano Schmitz show the Apparition of Our Lady, the Allegory of the Angels and the Annunciation, and the stained glass windows depict the Litany of Our Lady.
The church stands on Praça da Matriz in central Canela. Guided visits to the 65-metre tower are paid, while residents of Canela enter free on showing proof of residence. The tower carillon of 12 bronze bells, silent for years after a structural problem, has rung again since 2005.
The carillon, called the Independence Carillon, was cast by the Giacomo Crespi foundry in Italy and installed in 1972. A structural problem in the tower long kept all but three of its twelve bronze bells silent; they were put back into service after repairs in 2005.
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