Igreja de São Sebastião, Catholic church in Planaltina, Brasília, Brazil
Igreja de São Sebastião is a church in Planaltina whose current form dates from around 1881, when a rammed-earth chapel was enlarged. It has one main door and two side entrances, a brick floor, cut balusters, and clay-brick walls; two wooden pillars on each side divide the interior, which holds three plaster images: Christ, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Sebastian.
The building rose in 1810 after the Gomes Rabelo and Carlos de Alarcão families donated land to the Diocese of Goiás in response to a regional epidemic. This act of faith established a spiritual center for the growing settlement.
The church is dedicated to Saint Sebastian, whose plaster image stands inside alongside those of Christ and the Virgin Mary. The building belongs to the Archdiocese of Brasília and, with the Praça de São Sebastião de Mestre D'Armas, is listed as district heritage. The square and church together form the historic centre of Planaltina's Setor Tradicional.
The church stands in the Setor Tradicional de Planaltina, on Praça de São Sebastião de Mestre D'Armas, and was restored in 2013 together with the Museu Artístico e Histórico de Planaltina nearby. The interior has no side walls, being divided only by two wooden pillars on each side, so the brick floor and cut balustrades can be seen from the entrance. Look for the three plaster images of Christ, the Virgin Mary and Saint Sebastian.
The church was listed as a historical and artistic heritage site of the Federal District on 19 August 1982 by Decree 6940, together with the Praça de São Sebastião de Mestre D'Armas where it stands. It was restored in 2013 alongside the Museu Artístico e Histórico de Planaltina, also in the Setor Tradicional.
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