Culture: Religion in São Francisco do Sul (SC) - Brazil | Maria Emília
São Francisco do Sul is a historic city in Santa Catarina with an exuberant natural landscape: beaches, trails, lookouts, waterfalls and much more.
Image rights: City hall of São Francisco do Sul.
In addition to the indescribable beauty of São Chico, the city has a rich and interesting history related to its beautiful buildings - today, we will find out more about the city's church and a museum about religion. There are about 400 historic mansions listed by IPHAN (Instituto do Patrimônio Histórico Artístico Nacional - National Historical and Artistic Heritage Institute) which contribute so that all this heritage can be preserved and valued. In addition, it keeps alive the culture, habits and history of those who lived in the place.
Image of the Historic Center by Alexandre Braga.
São Chico has the first church in Santa Catarina: the Nossa Senhora da Graça Church. It all happened in 1553, when a Spanish ship arrived in the city and they decided to build the church. This happened because, during the voyage, the navigators faced a dangerous storm and, at that moment, they prayed and asked the saint to save them. As a way to thank the saint, they would build a church in the first place they arrived. That's how the Nossa Senhora da Graça Church was built.
Igreja Nossa Senhora da Graça - Image by Alexandre Braga.
The story also expands beyond the church, reaching the Museum of Sacred Art (Museum of Sacred Art), which is attached to the Church. The place was inaugurated in 2013 and has 800 pieces in its collection: clothing, rare books, photographs, sacred images, adornments, etc.
And best of all: these places are open to visitation (except now during the pandemic).
As we were able to notice, Catholicism was one of the religions that had a great influence on the city's history due to colonization. But, currently, São Chico has people who practice various other faiths. And that's what matters: we are always changing, but we must also preserve the history and memory of places!
