Mother Church of Our Lady of the Conception, Colonial church in Angra dos Reis, Brazil.

The Mother Church of Our Lady of the Conception stands on Praça General Silvestre Travassos in central Angra dos Reis. Its modest facade has one door and two windows at choir level, a simplified volute pediment added later, and a single bell tower on the left topped by a pyramidal masonry dome. Inside is a single nave with old images; the main altarpiece holds the patroness, and the sacristy keeps a lioz stone baptismal font donated by the Portuguese crown in 1750.

The parish of Angra dos Reis was founded in 1593 with a modest rammed-earth chapel; after its vicar was murdered, the seat moved across the bay to the Carmelite chapel. In 1624 the town council decided to build its own mother church, and work began on 25 February 1625. Construction was slow: the crown sent 200,000 réis in 1704, and the church was inaugurated only on 4 February 1750, 125 years after the start.

The church is dedicated to Our Lady of the Conception, its patron saint, whose image stands on the main altarpiece. In the sacristy, a baptismal font carved from lioz stone was donated by the Portuguese crown in 1750, the year the church was inaugurated.

The church stands on Praça General Silvestre Travassos in the city centre, a short walk from the waterfront. It is an active parish church, so visits fit around Mass times; the single nave and side sacristy are quickly seen. Look for the lioz stone baptismal font in the sacristy, donated by the Portuguese crown in 1750.

The baptismal font in the sacristy is carved from lioz stone, a pale limestone quarried near Lisbon, and was donated by the Portuguese crown in 1750, the year the church was inaugurated. The main altarpiece holds the image of the patroness, Our Lady of the Conception.