Basilica and Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo

The Basilica and Convent of Nossa Senhora do Carmo (transl.Basilica and Convent of Our Lady of Mount Carmel), also called as Basilica of Recife, is a Catholic architectural complex, belonging to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel, that is in Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil.

The first Carmelite friars arrived in Brazil in 1580, coming from Portugal. In 1584, with the foundation of a convent in Olinda the first one built in Brazil, the first Brazilian festivity was held in honor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. In 1654 the Our Lady of Mount Carmel was established in Recife. In 1665, Captain Diogo Cavalcanti Vasconcelos began the construction of the basilica and ordered the execution of the main chapel at his own expense, without the royal license which, demanded in 1674, was granted only on March 8, 1687. In that same year the Reduto da Boa Vista, erected by John Maurice, Prince of Nassau-Siegen, was donated to the Order to be integrated into the complex of the basilica and the convent. The temple was completed almost one hundred years later, in 1767. In this church, the head of Zumbi dos Palmares was exposed until complete decomposition. The church is where Frei Caneca made his religious vows and became a priest, and where he is supposed to be buried. In 1909 the Our Lady of Mount Carmel was proclaimed Patroness of Recife, and was canonically crowned on 21 September 1919 by a pontifical decree from Pope Benedict XV. In 1917, the church was added to the St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City. In 1922, the temple was elevated to the status of a basilica. The basilica and the Convent do Carmo were registered on October 5, 1938, by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN).

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