Basilica of the Most Blessed Sacrament, São Paulo, Neo-Romanesque basilica in the República district, São Paulo, Brazil
Nossa Senhora da Conceição da Santa Ifigênia is a Neo-Romanesque church with Gothic details at the corner of Avenida Cásper Líbero and Rua Santa Ifigênia in downtown São Paulo. Its exterior has two small towers and a tall central tower, rose windows and Lombard bands; the main portal has multiple archivolts. Inside, Venetian stained glass, a Walcker organ from 1924 and paintings by Henri Bernard (c. 1923) decorate the nave.
The Chapel of Our Lady of the Conception, one of São Paulo's oldest, stood here before 1720 and was renovated from 1794. In 1809 Prince Regent Dom João VI created the parish of Our Lady of the Conception and Santa Ifigênia and settled the Brotherhood of Santa Ifigênia and Santo Elesbão, made up of freed Black members, in the church. The colonial building was demolished in the early 20th century; Austrian architect Johann Lorenz Madein designed its Neo-Romanesque replacement, begun in 1904, inaugurated unfinished in 1910 and completed around 1913.
The church served as the city's temporary cathedral from 1930 to 1954 while the main cathedral was under construction. It remains an important gathering place for worship and reflection in the heart of downtown.
The church is located on Rua Santa Ifigênia in the downtown area and is easy to find on foot. Regular services are held daily, and visitors can enter freely to explore the interior at their own pace.
The 1924 organ came from Walcker Orgelbau of Ludwigsburg, Germany. It survives only partly: a small positive organ now stands where the old high altar was, while the rest sits dismantled in the choir, awaiting restoration. The nave pulpits, carved in wood and imported from France in 1920, show Saint Peter and Saint Paul.
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