Congonhas

Congonhas do Campo is one of the historic cities of Minas Gerais. The reason that tourists visit Congonhas is the Basílica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinhos and the neighbouring historic buildings.

Getting there
Congonhas is situated at 72 km from Belo Horizonte. It can easily be reached by bus from Belo Horizonte and from São João del Rey.

Town

Along the Rua Bom Jesus street are most of the monuments of Congonhas. After crossing the valley, this street is called the Rua Padre Pio and it leads to the Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Conceição. The Avenida Júlia Kubitschek runs through the valley and crosses the Rua Bom Jesus-Rua Padre Pio. The modern parts of Congonhas are built along the Avenida Júlia Kubitschek.

Basílica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinhos
The Basílica do Senhor Bom Jesus de Matosinhos is situated on the Morro Maranhão hill. On the slope in front of the basilica is a beautiful garden with old palm trees and six white chapels. This area offers a extraordinary view over the town and the surrounding hills.

In these six chapels are sculptures made of painted cedar wood that depict the Via Cruces of Christ. These life-size statues were made by the Brazilian master Antônio Francisco Lisboa who is better known by his nickname Aleijadinho.

After Aleijadinho finished the 66 sculptures in the chapels, he made 12 stone sculptures of prophets. These 12 prophets are situated on the parapets along the stairs to the church.

This basilica was built by Feliciano Mendes. This Portuguese adventurer was born poor but had become very wealthy. When he was ill he did a promise that he would built this monument if he was cured. He kept his promise: when he was cured he paid for the construction of the basilica.