Catedral da Se de Sao Paulo

Cathedral of Sao Paulo

Praca da Se, Sao Paulo

4.5

The Cathedral of Sao Paulo, locally known as Catedral da Se, is a Roman Catholic Church in Sao Paulo. It is the seat of Brazil's Archbishop. The church dates back to 1954. The construction of the church took 42 years. Professor of architecture in Sao Paulo, Maximilian Emil Hehl, designed the building we see today. The overall exterior is of Neo-Gothic style with a Renaissance styled dome inspired by the Cathedral of Florence. The interiors of the church are decorated with sculpted Brazilian produce as coffee branches, pineapples and even local animals like armadillos.

There is a crypt underneath the church's main altar. The crpyt is decorates with sculptures representing the history of Job and St. Jerome. It houses the the tombs of several historic figures andall bishops and archbishops of the city.

To reach the cathedral you can use metro and get off at the Praca da Se stop.

Entrance to the Catedral da Se is free of charge!

click on map to see in full size

Open Hours:

Mon

08:00 - 19:00
Tue

08:00 - 19:00
Wed

08:00 - 19:00
Thu

08:00 - 19:00
Fri

08:00 - 19:00
Sat

08:00 - 17:00
Sun

08:00 - 18:00

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Kabille Jonas

1

I only can give one star as the place in front of the cathedral is full of homeless people and gipsys. You feel very unconfortable in between. I can't understand the city Sao Paulo how they don't do anything against that Problem - it ruins the city. Actually 95% of the people in the center are homeless , either you climb over garbage sacks or homeless. Worst city on earth! Whatever you do don't go to Sao Paulo and if you are the lucky one and can't avoid it then only make a trip to Beco de Batman as this place is the nicest and cleanest of Sao Paulo.
A. Fábio

5

A beautiful holy place to go in the downtown São Paulo, I really recommend, but take care around it, there are a lot of weird people nearby...
David M

5

I love the juxtaposition of this cathedral - beautiful and serene on the inside; but, as soon as you exit, it’s a war zone and you don’t feel comfortable stopping to take a photo outside. Amazing stain glass windows and unlike many other cathedrals I’ve visited across Brazil, this one had many active parishioners in the pews, asking for forgiveness and probably for protection from the shady characters waiting outside
Giuliano Orlando

5

Beautiful new-gothic Cathedral. Massive and magnificent 😍
Américo dos Santos

5

What an awesome place! The architecture, the whole building itself is a masterpiece! Unfortunatelly it's not finished (there would be more details in the towers but they stopped many years ago with no idea if they'll resume it later) Anyway it's the place in São Paulo where most worth the visit!
Joao cascimiro

5

It's an amazing and beautiful place to visit, independent of your faith or religion.
Marie Basoli Martelli

5

Beautiful!!! What can I say??? Such an amazing church!!!
Eli Santos

5

This cathedral has an amazing architecture. Rich in details. You must see it if you are visiting the old downtown Sao Paulo. That been said, however, be aware of pickpockets around that area, most of them are just homeless but most of them will take your stuff away if they see an opportunity (this is not only a problem in that location but in the hole old downtown)
Devanand D shenoy

5

Loved it. Nice place to visit
Thiago Silveira

5

Well maintained cathedral in a beautiful neo-gothic style. Maybe one of the few buildings in this styles out of Europe. It was amazing to hear the organs during the mass. The crypt below the church is also very interesting. Be careful, though, with the surroundings, the area near the church have a lot of homeless people. Although there are many cops as well, be careful all the time.