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The Basilica Nossa Senhora do Carmo is a Catholic architectural complex belonging to the Carmelite Order, located in Recife.
After the expulsion of the Dutch from Pernambuco, the authorities were reluctant to build a Carmelite convent in Recife – they preferred to concentrate their efforts on remodelling the convent in Olinda, which had been ruined after the Dutch invasion.
But after some time there was a consensus, and the land where there were the ruins of an old palace of Maurício de Nassau was donated to the Carmel, which built on the site a church dedicated to Our Lady of Desterro.
At the same time, there was an institutional reform in the Carmelite order – known as the Touraine reform, or Turonica (from Tours, France).
The Carmelites of Recife accepted the renewal, while those of Olinda refused the reform.
Video “Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Recife”
Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Carmo em Recife - História e Arquitetura
Thus, after some time, the Carmel of Recife flourished, and the convent of Olinda stagnated, even going through some years of decay.
Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel – History and Architecture
At the end of the 17th century, with the support of Captain Diogo Cavalcanti de Vasconcelos, a veteran of the war against the Dutch and brother-in-law of André Vidal de Negreiros, the Carmelites of Recife undertook the construction of a new church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Work on the church and convent of the Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel lasted over a hundred years, beginning around 1680 and lasting until the end of the 18th century, when the tower and façade were completed.
The church has nine altars: the high altar (dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel), six side altars, and two large altars in the transept (one dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament and the other to Bom Jesus and Saint Joseph).
The church’s frontispiece is one of the most imposing in Pernambuco, with many volutes carved in stone, and the tower, 50 metres high, is topped by one of the most elaborate bulbs of the Brazilian Baroque.
In 1917, Pope Benedict XV elevated the church to the dignity of ‘Patriarchal Vatican Basilica’, conferring upon it various indulgences and specific jurisdictional features.
And in 1919, Our Lady of Mount Carmel was proclaimed patron saint of Recife.
Throughout the 20th century, under the pretext of promoting progress, local politicians undertook disastrous modifications in the old centre of Recife, which contributed to degrade the region and de-characterise this important stronghold of Brazilian history.
But the Basílica do Carmo, as well as other churches in the area, still stand with their original beauty, recalling a time when Pernambuco was one of the most prosperous regions in Brazil.
According to the historian Flávio Guerra, this image of Mary is the same one that was brought from Portugal to Olinda, and which was saved from destruction by the Dutch (Calvinists) when they invaded the city.
Tourism and Travel Guide to Recife, Pernambuco and the Northeast of Brazil
Religious Tourism and Sacred Recife
Tourism and Travel Guide of Pernambuco
