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Beloved church gets a face-lift
Salvador's splendid historic churches draw tourists from around the world. But foreign visitors to the famous Igreja do Nosso Senhor do Bonfim in the city's western suburbs are often crowded out by local believers.
No other church in Salvador, or indeed in the whole state of Bahia, attracts as many devotees as the Igreja do Bonfim, which was completed in 1745. In addition to serving as the gathering point for a number of elaborate religious festivals, Bonfim is the preferred destination for people with specific prayer requests, from help on a final exam to successful surgery. Wrought iron fences around the church are festooned with thousands of fitas-colorful ribbons purchased by visitors who have prayed there. The Museu de Ex-Votos do Senhor do Bonfim, housed inside the church, contains more graphic mementos to answered and pending prayer requests: photos of loved ones, hand-written testimonials, carvings of limbs and paintings of miraculous rescues.
Two hundred and fifty years of use have taken their toll on the celebrated building. Bonfim's beautiful frescoes and mosaics are now being repaired as part of the city's IDB-supported preservation program.
Date posted: June, 1999
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