| Salvador - Churches - Nosso Senhor do Bonfim Church |
The images of Nosso Senhor do Bonfim and Nossa Senhora came from Portugal in 1745
and stayed at Penha’s Church until the end of the construction of Nosso do Senhor do Bonfim Church. In 1754, the internal part of the church was
finished and the saints were brought in by a procession.
The illumination was made of lamps until June 1862, when public illumination was
implanted, done by carbon gas lamps. The electrical installations made in 1902 were kept until 1998, when the church was restored.
The Nosso Senhor do Bonfim Church is considered as one of the most popular in
Salvador, especially by having its image attached to annual events, like the wide stair washing by baianas in January, part of a ritual of the
afro-brazilian culture, where the baianas take all the negative fluids by using fragrance water and brooms.
Says the legend that Senhor do Bonfim is the saint who cures diseases and save
lives, that’s why the church receives hundreds of religious through the year. The pilgrimage originated the famous Sala dos Milagres (Room of the
Miracles), a room where religious make prays and wishes, leaving some personal belongings in case they are granted. There are photos, letters,
diplomas and all you can imagine as a proof of the concretization of dreams encouraged by the devotion of the believers. Also, there can be found
small sculptures of parts of human bodies, as gratitude to cure of diseases and physical deficiencies.
Rarely, the Senhor do Bonfim’s image leaves the church, even in processions. There
are registers of some few leavings that occurred only in extreme cases, as in 1942, because of the severe dryness that razed the region, and in
1945, because of the celebration of the bicentenary of the creation of the devotion to the saint. In 1997 the image left the church for the last
time. Soon after, it went through a checking and it was verified the impossibility of a new procession with the image due to its advanced age.
However, a replica was made to avoid bigger damage to the original work. The best way to see the original sculpture is to visit the church.
In front of the church, craftsmanship fairs takes place, with the sell of
accessories and religious and mystic goods, beside the famous Senhor do Bonfim’s strap.
Address: Praça do Bonfim, 50
Phone: (71) 316-2196 |
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