Sé Cathedral (Catedral da Sé)
Praca da Sé, Sé, São Paulo, BRA
Reigning supreme over the center of Sao Paulo, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (Sé Cathedral) is one of the largest neo-Gothic structures in the world. The 12,000-pipe organ is among the biggest in South America and the church houses a vast number of religious artworks.
This cathedral ranks among the city’s most notable landmarks and therefore features on almost all Sao Paulo sightseeing tours, including walking and bike tours of the city center. Access to the cathedral is free, but a small fee gets you a tour of the structure and its tombs. As the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Sao Paulo, the cathedral holds mass daily in Portuguese.
Remember to dress respectfully and keep your voice down as this is an active place of worship.
Give yourself at least an hour to visit the cathedral, more if you’re taking a tour.
The church sits right in the middle of the city, near the main square of Praça da Sé. To get there by public transportation, take either the Line 1 or Line 3 and disembark at Sé subway station.
The cathedral is open daily throughout the year, though hours vary by day of the week. Masses are held daily. If you’re visiting the cathedral after dark, be sure to take a taxi.
The current neo-Gothic structure is the third incarnation of the cathedral, the first church having been established in 1589. Designed by German architect Maximilian Hehl in 1912, construction on the current church began the following year and only came to full completion in 1967, a full 50 years after Hehl himself died. The cathedral was inaugurated for São Paulo’s 400th anniversary in 1954.
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