| Arraial d'Ajuda - Churches - Nossa Senhora d'Ajuda Church |
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Nossa Senhora d'Ajuda Church |
The place where the Igreja Nossa Senhora d’Ajuda was built in 1549, has always
been surrounded in mystery, when the Jesuits arrived in the colony, they found a place that already received pilgrims from various nearby
villages.
The legend says that the pilgrimage began when a man found a statue of the saint
Nossa Senhora do Rosario near there and took the statue home. The next day, the saint had disappeared. However, the peasant found the saint again
in the same place. He decided to take it home and Nossa Senhora disappeared again. The fact happened three times, until the peasant came to the
conclusion that the saint wanted to stay there and a chapel was built which, later on, gave origin to the church.
Following the example of all the other historical churches in the south of Bahia,
the church of Nossa Senhora d’Ajuda also has only one steeple. This was a strategy used by the priests so that they wouldn’t have to pay taxes
because with only one steeple, the churches were always considered to be in contraction.
The church received the saint Nossa Senhora do Rosario but was named Nossa Senhora
d’Ajuda. The original statue of Nossa Senhora do Rosario found by the peasant, still remains on the alter of the church and is visited by
thousands of followers. |
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