Brazil

The national shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, Patroness of Brazil, housing the small terracotta statue found by three fishermen in the Paraíba do Sul River in mid-October 1717. The Romanesque Revival Greek-cross basilica designed by Benedito Calixto de Jesus Neto was begun on November 11, 1955 and consecrated on July 4, 1980, widely described as the largest Marian church in the world.

Minor Basilica (1980), National Shrine of Brazil (CNBB, 1984)Av. Dr. Júlio Prestes s/n, Aparecida, SP, 12570-000

Photo: Rodrigo Soldon from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

The monumental Neo-Gothic metropolitan cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sao Paulo rising over Praca da Se at Kilometer Zero of Brazil's largest metropolis, constructed between 1913 and 1967 (inaugurated on January 25, 1954 for the city's 400th anniversary) to designs by German architect Maximilian Emil Hehl on the site of the 1591 colonial church, celebrated for its twin 92-meter spires, Renaissance crossing dome, stone capitals carved with Brazilian flora and fauna, 12,000-pipe Italian organ, and marble crypt housing the tomb of indigenous Chief Tibirica.

Metropolitan Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sao Paulo and Listed Historical and Cultural Heritage Monument of the State of Sao Paulo (CONDEPHAAT, 2016)Praca da Se, Se District, Historic Center of Sao Paulo, State of Sao Paulo, Federative Republic of Brazil

Photo: San Martins Silva, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The largest Buddhist temple complex in South America and the Latin American headquarters of the Fo Guang Shan order of Humanistic Buddhism, established in 1992 in Cotia on the western outskirts of Sao Paulo following the visit of Venerable Master Hsing Yun and Abbess Miao You (Jue Cheng) and inaugurated in its monumental Tang-dynasty palace architecture on October 5, 2003 across a 150,000-square-meter parkland estate housing the Jade Buddha Main Shrine, Ksitigarbha Hall, Buddhist Museum, and the Sons of Buddha youth foundation.

South American Headquarters of the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Order and Largest Buddhist Monastery Complex in Latin AmericaEstrada Municipal Fernando Nobre 1461 (off Rodovia Raposo Tavares km 28.5), Parque Rincao, Cotia, State of Sao Paulo, Federative Republic of Brazil

Photo: Henrique Boney, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The crowning pilgrimage ensemble of Brazilian Baroque and Rococo art atop Morro do Maranhao in Congonhas, Minas Gerais, founded in 1757 by Portuguese hermit Feliciano Mendes and inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 (Ref. 334) for the monumental sculptural cycle created between 1796 and 1805 by the Afro-Brazilian master sculptor Antonio Francisco Lisboa (O Aleijadinho), comprising 66 life-sized polychrome cedarwood statues across six Passion Chapels and 12 dramatic soapstone statues of the Old Testament Prophets overlooking the basilica forecourt.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (inscribed December 6, 1985, Ref. 334), Minor Basilica (elevated by Pope Pius XII in 1957), and National Historic and Artistic Monument of Brazil (IPHAN, 1939)Praca do Santuario, Morro do Maranhao, City of Congonhas, State of Minas Gerais, Federative Republic of Brazil

Photo: Pierre André Leclercq, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Revered across Brazil as the Golden Church (Igreja de Ouro) and the supreme masterpiece of Luso-Brazilian Baroque gilt woodcarving (talha dourada), constructed between 1686 and 1755 at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Pelourinho district in Salvador da Bahia (Ref. 309), dazzling visitors with a cavernous nave entirely sheathed in carved cedarwood and gleaming gold leaf alongside a two-story Franciscan cloister lined with 37 monumental panels of 1740s Lisbon blue-and-white azulejo tiles illustrating moral philosophy.

Core Monument of the UNESCO World Heritage Historic Center of Salvador de Bahia (inscribed 1985, Ref. 309), National Historic Monument of Brazil (IPHAN, 1938), and Elected One of the Seven Wonders of Portuguese Origin in the World (2009)Largo do Cruzeiro de Sao Francisco, Pelourinho Historic Center, Salvador, State of Bahia, Federative Republic of Brazil

Photo: Wellington Da Costa Gomez, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons