Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos, Baroque church in Centro Histórico, São Luís, Brazil.

Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Rosário dos Pretos is a Baroque church on Rua do Egito in the historic center of São Luís. Its facade has two bell towers and a curved pediment. Inside, two side altars flank the main altar, and the narrow ambulatory walls are covered with Portuguese tiles. Four oratories line the nave: São Pedro, Nossa Senhora da Vitória, Santa Ifigênia and São Judas Tadeu.

The Brotherhood of Nossa Senhora do Rosário received land from Carmelite friars in May 1717, on the site of the earlier "Carmo Velho" chapel. Construction took about sixty years under the brotherhood's head, João Luís da Fonseca, called Rei. The church was inspected in 1772 and blessed in 1776, when the image of the Virgin of the Rosary was moved here from the Carmo church. It served as the city's main church from 1852 to 1861 after lightning struck the Sé Cathedral.

The Brotherhood of Nossa Senhora do Rosário created this space for Black communities to gather and practice their faith during the colonial era. Today you can feel the strong connection to Afro-Brazilian identity through the artworks and decorations that line the walls.

The church stands on Rua do Egito in the Historic Centre of São Luís, an area best explored on foot. It remains an active place of worship, so dress modestly and keep quiet during services. The annual Feast of São Benedito, organised by the Brotherhood of São Benedito since 1947, fills the church in August.

The church served as the city's main cathedral only from 1852 to 1861, after a lightning strike hit the Cathedral da Sé. In 1947 Bishop Adalberto Accioli Sobral transferred the Brotherhood of São Benedito here from the Church of Santo Antônio, and it has since maintained the building and held the Feast of São Benedito every August.