Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Pilar, Baroque church and sacred art museum in Ouro Preto, Brazil

Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora do Pilar is a Baroque parish church and minor basilica on Monsenhor Castilho Barbosa Square in Ouro Preto. Its mid-19th-century facade, white with pinkish-tan stone trim, has a central body between two square towers with arched belfry openings. Inside, a wooden-floored nave with a painted arched ceiling is lined by gilded altarpieces and pillars, ending at a multi-tiered high altar.

The present church grew around a chapel erected from 1696, enlarged in 1712 with funds from devotees. Construction began with the nave, so the old chapel stayed in use until it was demolished between 1731 and 1733; the Eucharist was moved to the Rosary Church and returned in the procession of the Eucharistic Triumph. The chancel was built and decorated from 1741 to 1754, and the stone facade and second tower were finished in 1848.

The parish was the richest and most populous in Vila Rica, home to the most brotherhoods, which held assigned seats in the church as marks of social rank. The Brotherhood of the Eucharist and that of Our Lady of the Pillar were both founded in 1712, followed by the Rosary of the Blacks and the Lord of the Steps in 1715. The nave ceiling holds fifteen rococo panels of 1768, attributed to João de Carvalhais, showing scenes from the Old Testament.

The church stands on Praça Monsenhor Castilho Barbosa. The entrance door is set off-axis from the nave, so the interior opens to one side as you step in. The nave has a wooden floor and a polygonal plan formed by a timber frame; the chancel and sacristy lie beyond the cross arch, reached by side corridors.

Building work began with the nave instead of the chapel, so that services could continue during construction. This departure from the usual procedure allowed continuous use for religious purposes.