Church of Our Lady of Lapa dos Mercadores, Catholic church in Centro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

The Church of Our Lady of Lapa dos Mercadores stands at Rua do Ouvidor 35 in central Rio de Janeiro. Its elliptical plan is entered through a three-arch galilee with iron grilles, with the bell tower rising at the centre. The interior combines late-Rococo woodcarving by Antônio de Pádua e Castro with stucco by Antônio Alves Meira, and a coloured stained-glass panel hangs from a large glass-and-iron skylight.

The temple traces its origin to a small oratory built around 1743 by local merchants; on 20 June 1747 they formed a brotherhood, and the foundation stone was laid in December of that year. The part ready for worship was consecrated on 6 August 1750, with works completed by 1755 and interior decoration finished in 1766. Between 1869 and 1879 the church was enlarged under the patronage of the Barão da Lagoa, and it has been listed by Iphan since 1937.

The brotherhood that owns the church was founded on 20 June 1747 by merchants who first called it "Igreja dos Mascates", later changed to "Mercadores". The bells, reactivated in 2023, ring every hour, and the tower holds the city's first carillon, installed before that of São José.

The church stands at Rua do Ouvidor 35, at the corner of Travessa do Comércio, near the Arco do Teles, between Rua do Mercado and Primeiro de Março. Entry is through a three-arch galilee closed by iron grilles, with the bell tower at its centre. The bells ring hourly; the tower clock, stopped since 1922, was restarted in August 2023.

The full-size statue of Our Lady of Faith stood on the bell tower, not the dome. On 25 September 1893 a shell from the ironclad Aquidabã, aimed at the Itamaraty Palace, struck the tower and threw the statue down more than 25 metres; it lost only two fingers, which was called miraculous. Statue and projectile are shown in the sacristy.