Igrejinha Nossa Senhora de Fátima, Modernist church in Plano Piloto, Brazil

Igrejinha Nossa Senhora de Fátima is a chapel in Brasília whose triangular concrete roof rests on three pillars and tilts like a nun's headdress. A single curved wall forms a U-shaped nave, with a hidden sacristy behind a straight half-wall. The exterior is covered in Athos Bulcão's blue and white tiles showing the Star of Bethlehem and a dove.

The building was constructed in just 100 days and opened in June 1958 as the first masonry temple in Brasília, following a request from First Lady Sarah Kubitschek. This rapid completion made it a significant symbol during the early years of the newly built capital.

The azulejos on the exterior are the only figurative panel by Athos Bulcão: the Star of Bethlehem that guided the Magi and a dove for the Holy Spirit. Inside, Alfredo Volpi painted banners and a saint holding a child until 1964, when the frescoes were covered over in blue. In 2009 Francisco Galeno, a former pupil of Volpi, repainted the interior with kites, spools of thread and a blue Our Lady of Fátima.

The chapel sits in the 307/308 Sul block of Plano Piloto, a short walk from the commercial sectors of Asa Sul. It is small, so groups should plan visits outside mass times. The interior frescoes by Francisco Galeno and the Athos Bulcão tiles are best seen in daylight.

In 2009, artist Francisco Galeno created new interior paintings incorporating elements of Brazilian folk culture with colors linked to Our Lady of Fatima. These later artistic additions bring a folk dimension to the interior that complements the modernist exterior.