Parish Church of Saint Antony

Jacobina, Bahia, Brazil

Religious Architecture

The square in the heart of the old city is ringed by small houses and sobrados from the 19th century with the parish church in the background, framed by the hills. In front of it, on the other side, is the River Ouro. The parish of Jacobina Velha was created in 1683 by the second archbishop of Bahia, Friar João da Madre de Deus. Disputes between the two most powerful families at the time, the Guedes de Brito and the Garcia d’Ávila families, led to the break-up of the original parish; the new one was created in 1758 at its current site, on land pertaining to the Guedes de Brito. As in the city’s other churches, the parish church originally had two side porches. Residents have indicated that 1922 renovations transformed sacristies into low choirs closed by the old grilles. A transversal sacristy was added, the porches were closed, arches replaced the partition wall and the old altars were moved to the new naves. As a result, the building currently comprises three naves defined by arcades, a chancel flanked by low choirs and a transversal sacristy. The façade was also modified, similar to what was done at the Church of the Conception. The baroque pediment was lost in the mid-20th century, replaced by the current triangular top. The right tower, lower and pyramidal, was built in 1967, eliminating archaeological vestiges of the house of Saint Benedict. A chapel and baptismal font are located at the base of the towers. The three-tiered frontispiece has a single entrance, with a depressed-arched lintel crowned by a projecting frieze, typical of the second half of the 18th century when the church was built. Inside, the altars with carving work from the second and third development periods (according to Lúcio Costa’s classification) have been preserved.