The Chapel of Nossa Senhora das Almas dos Aflitos — considered one of the oldest and most historic religious buildings in São Paulo —, will reopen this Saturday (27).
Located in the Liberdade neighborhood, Central zone of the capital of São Paulo, the place was part of the first open-air cemetery in the cityaimed at enslaved people, indigenous people, indigents and those sentenced to death in the old Largo da Forca in 1779.
The reopening event will feature a mass at 10am and also The restoration began in April 2025 and more than R$3.2 million was invested in the modernization, accessibility, preservation and revitalization of the historic space.
With the works, the chapel received adequate lighting, the facade was redone, the wake was rebuilt, the rammed earth masses that showed severe erosion were consolidated, the benches were restored, as well as the roof and the sacristy and a place was also built for the burial of the human remains found in archaeological research.
A clock that was lost in the 1950s will also be reintroduced. Furthermore, the location will now have general accessibility such as map and tactile floor, audio and pounds.
In 2024, the cause received R$2 million through a notice from Proac, the Secretariat of Culture, Economy and Creative Industry of the Government of São Paulo and the Ministry of Culture, by Carollo Arquitetura e Restauro, responsible for the work, in partnership with Unamca, but new resources were needed.
In 2025, the City of São Paulo, through the Municipal Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy, to Mitra Arquidiocesana de São Paulo, owner and administrator of the chapel.
Union of Friends Chapel of the Aflitos
June 27th also celebrates the anniversary of the União dos Amigos Capela dos Aflitos (Unamca), created in 2018, with the aim of preserving the site and its history.
“The renovation of the Chapel was highly requested by residents, especially from the black community, to have a space telling part of their history in the Liberdade neighborhood. It is a great achievement to be able to deliver this space to the city”, says Totó Parente, Municipal Secretary of Culture and Creative Economy.
The entire process involves five to ten people being buried, which confirms the historical use of the area as part of the Cemitério dos Aflitos, dating from 1775 and active until the mid-19th century.
Indigenous and African people and their descendants were buried there. The executions of these people took place in Campo da Forcawhich is today Praça da Liberdade, and those whose bodies were not mutilated ended up buried around the chapel.
For years, the Capela dos Aflitos received several interventions, for example, in 1779, when it was inaugurated, the space was smaller and later expanded. In 1890, it underwent a major renovation, as in 1960. In 1994, the restoration was necessary after the fire, the reason for which is unknownbut it is believed to have been caused by the electrical part and the restoration that began in 1995 was not completed.
Over time, the chapel’s situation worsened, until in 2018, the construction of a building next door caused cracks in the walls and caused the roof to cave in, which led to infiltrations. In the same year, Unamca emerged to take care of the chapel’s care and request the necessary resources for the restoration. Work on the building next door was stoppedbeginning a new process of redefinition of the area.
The Memorial dos Aflitos will also be built in the chapel, to preserve the history of the neighborhood. And in November this year, in Black Consciousness Month, a book is scheduled to be released on the site’s archaeological excavations and on heritage education.
