Church of Our Lady of Joy, Colonial church in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Brazil.

The Church of Our Lady of Joy stands on the Morro dos Guararapes in Jaboatão dos Guararapes, Pernambuco. Its pale stone and white stucco facade, framed by two square bell towers over a portico of three arches, is attributed to Francisco Nunes Soares (1795); the front is set with reef stones and covered in white Portuguese tiles. Inside, the nave holds a painted wooden image of the Virgin of the Pleasures, and the main altar shows Nossa Senhora dos Prazeres between carved cedar columns.

The church was built in the 17th century during the Portuguese colonial period in Brazil. It was listed by IPHAN in 1938, becoming one of the earliest buildings in the region to receive official national heritage protection.

The church remains an active place of Catholic worship where the local community of Jaboatão dos Guararapes gathers regularly. Feast days bring processions and celebrations that follow traditions rooted in the colonial period.

The church stands on the Morro dos Guararapes, inside the Parque Histórico Nacional dos Guararapes, and is open daily from 8:00 to 17:00. Guided visits explain its history and architecture; ask the church staff for details. The hilltop setting means arriving by car or taxi from Recife rather than on foot.

The church keeps a 1676 ex-voto painted in oil on wood and an old 50 cm image of Our Lady of Joy in the small monastery beside it. After the Dutch defeat the population celebrated the Feast of Our Lady of Victories, also called Our Lady of Joy, for eight days, with the eighth day dedicated to Bacchus.