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An expressive example of Baroque architecture in Brazil, the Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco in Salvador or Church of the Third Order of St Francis, located at Largo do Pelourinho in Salvador, Bahia, had its foundation stone installed on 1 January 1702.
The original baroque interior was replaced by neoclassical altars between 1827 and 1828.
The Portuguese tiles, however, were mostly kept and are distributed throughout the cloister, consistory, aisles and galleries of the church.
They depict scenes of Lisbon before the earthquake that destroyed the city in 1755 and the wedding procession of Prince José to Dona Maria Ana de Bourbon.
The church also houses important works of sacred art, such as the sculpture of the Dead Lord weeping tears of rubies, by Francisco das Chagas Xavier, as well as a room of saints in which life-size images of the saints are displayed.
The Church of St Francis, built in the 18th century, has a gold and rosewood interior with carvings depicting angels, animals and flowers.
There are numerous tile panels, in shades of blue, at the entrance to the church, on the Altar and in the Sacristy, depicting scenes alluding to St Francis of Assisi – his birth and renunciation of material goods, works painted by Bartolomeu Antunes de Jesus, one of Portugal’s great tile masters.
Its origins date back to 1686, following a project by Father Vicente das Chagas.
The convent was started first and in 1708 the foundation stone of the church was laid, with the building completed in 1723, but its decoration took even longer.
The convent was completed in 1752, but the whole complex wasn’t finalised until 1782, when the tiles were laid and the gatehouse finished
In the 20th century, the buildings underwent restoration work on several occasions.
The church’s floor plan is unusual among Franciscan buildings in the north-east of Brazil, as it has three naves, whereas the more usual design has just one nave.
The façade, facing a large square where there is a cross, has a Mannerist influence, with two relatively simple side towers and a more decorated central volume, especially in the pediment.
All the interior surfaces – walls, columns, ceiling, chapels – are covered in intricate carvings and gilding, with florets, friezes, arches, volutes and countless figures of angels and birds scattered at various points, as well as Portuguese tile panels with various moralistic scenes and inscriptions.
It is considered one of the most significant expressions of the Baroque in Brazil. The ceiling has paintings by Friar Jerônimo da Graça, done between 1733 and 1737.
The Sacristy, one of the most beautiful examples of Brazilian Baroque architecture, features rich carving and marble work.
Panels with paintings make the transition between the walls and the ceiling, in a crate style.
Video – History and Architecture of the Church of the Third Order of St Francis
See also the details of the façade of the Church, ICONOGRAPHY OF THE FAÇADE OF THE CHURCH OF THE THIRD ORDER OF SAINT FRANCISCO IN SALVADOR, BAHIA
Construction, Decoration and Architecture of the Igreja da Ordem Terceira de São Francisco
The city of Salvador, founded in 1549, was named St. Saviour of the Bay, and a fortress was built to protect its citizens.
A hundred years later, the Third Order of St Francis of the Bay was established, whose friars first lodged in a small chapel before moving ahead with the construction of the monastery in 1587.
The church is decorated with a treasure: more than 1,500 square metres of tiles depict the city of Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake.
The city, founded in 1549, was named S. Salvador da Baía and a fortress was built to protect its citizens.
A hundred years later, the Third Order of St Francis of the Bay was established, whose friars first lodged in a small chapel before moving on to build the monastery in 1587.
The church is decorated with a treasure: more than 1,500 square metres of tiles show the city of Lisbon before the 1755 earthquake.The façade of the church is built in sandstone, imported from Portugal but carved in Brazil.
The Third Order of St Francis was founded in Salvador in 1635, next to the convent of the same name, and its first chapel was completed in 1644.
In 1686, plans were made to build a larger church, and about fifteen years later, a competition was held to choose the artists who would do the work.
Once the choices had been finalised, work began on the new church in 1702, which would stand out among the others for its façade entirely carved in sandstone, in the so-called ‘plateresque’ style widely used in churches in Hispanic America.
It is a unique example in Brazil, and only the church of Nossa Senhora da Guia, in Paraíba, can be compared to it, albeit more simply.
The decoration of the interior of the church was almost entirely modified in the 19th century by the carver José de Cerqueira Torres, with a predominance of the neoclassical style.
In 1844, under the direction of Joaquim Francisco de Mattos, a chapel called “Casa dos Santos” was built, where several images used in processions were kept.
Below, a painting kept in the premises of the Third Order, shows a ‘family tree’ of the Franciscan Order, beginning with St Francis and his first disciples, and passing through several generations of friars and nuns, until it reaches the feet of Mary. On the column at the base of the tree is one of the first saints of the order: Antonio de Lisboa (or of Padua).
Tourism and Travel Guide to Salvador da Bahia and the North-East
