Everything Random

Visiting Sao Paolo for the first time brought a lot of excitement for me. As a Catholic Christian, whose country’s colonial history spanned 400 years of Spanish influence, I was wondering how, in another part of the world, that is embedded in culture and ways of doing.

The city itself tells you of its rich Catholic heritage. The city centre itself (well, the old city centre) hosts two very interesting pieces of buildings – the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady Assumption and Saint Paul, also known as the See Cathedral, and the Pateo de Collegio, the Jesuit settlement from 1554.

The Se Cathedral is impressive. It’s largely Neo-Gothic in style, but the dome seems Renaissance inspired. The size is huge – and its 90 plus meter height towers over the city. The interior is sparingly decorated but is a sight to behold. I sat for an hour or two in the pews just to soak in its magnificence.

A few meters away is the Pateo de Collegio, that has a small chapel with a relic of Jose de Anchietta, the Jesuit missionary considered to be Sao Paolo’s revered “founders”, though the term is historically inaccurate because people lived in these tenements before they came.

Then, there is the Museo de Arte Sacro de São Paulo, one of those with the richest collection of Catholic art. The complex also houses a chapel that is still used to this day. The collection here is impressive. I was the only one who visited there one Sunday morning and it made the visit really meaningful, as I can enjoy each collection without having to deal with noisy tourists who do not have a regard of the sacred nature of these religious artifacts to people’s lives.

The museum also houses one of the most impressive nativity scenes I have scene my whole life. The impressive scene is composed of roughly 1,500 pieces and combines combines the birth of Christ with everyday life in a 16th-century Neapolitan village. The scale is just impressive. I spent around an hour just looking at each intricate figurine, which approximately totals 350.

Finally, there is the church of Sao Bento, which reminds me so much of the Jaro and Molo churches of Iloilo City, with saints adorning each column.

These are just a few of the churches I have visited. I have visited other two for Sunday liturgy but these I have featured here are the topnotch, and you must visit when you happen to be in Sao Paolo in the future.