Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
— — a small dark figure under a vast blue dome.
Not only on a wall.
“The basilica rises above the town of Aparecida in the Paraíba Valley, a vast cross-shaped sanctuary of brick and stone holding the small dark terracotta figure that fishermen pulled from the Paraíba do Sul River in 1717. On feast days the nave fills past capacity and the line for the venerated image moves slowly under the central dome. Outside, vendors sell candles in the colours of the Virgin. The bells carry across the river valley. — from the studio
Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, on ceramic.
Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.
Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.
The place, in three passes.
The Basílica de Nossa Senhora Aparecida sits in the city of Aparecida, in the Paraíba Valley of São Paulo state, roughly halfway between São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro along the BR-116 highway. Construction of the new basilica began in 1955 to a design by architect Benedito Calixto Neto, and it was consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1980. By interior area it is among the largest churches in the world, with capacity often cited near 45,000 people. It is the National Shrine of Brazil and the centre of Marian devotion for the country's Catholic population.
The basilica is built on a Greek-cross plan in red brick with reinforced concrete vaults, four arms of equal length meeting under a central dome that rises about 70 metres. Stained-glass windows fill the upper register; the lower walls carry mosaic panels depicting Marian scenes. The small venerated image at the heart of the church is a 40-centimetre terracotta figure of the Immaculate Conception, traditionally dated to the late 17th century, darkened by river silt and centuries of candle smoke. It is displayed in a glass reliquary above the main altar, reached by ramped corridors on the upper floor.
October 12 is the feast of Nossa Senhora Aparecida and a national holiday across Brazil, drawing the largest single gathering of the year, often more than 200,000 pilgrims to the sanctuary across the day. The basilica also marks the anniversary of the image's recovery from the Paraíba do Sul on the same date in 1717. Smaller weekly pilgrimages arrive year-round by bus from across the country. The shrine is administered by the Redemptorist Congregation, who have served it since 1894.