Santuário Basílica Nossa Senho

The Shrine of Our Lady of Mercy, located 48 km from the state capital.

The Our Lady of Mercy Sanctuary is located 48 km from the state capital and 16 km from the city of Caeté, is a backdrop of rich natural beauty, on the mountain, the 1746 meters of altitude. Ideal for reflection, prayer and encounter with God, the Shrine which houses the patron saint of Minas Gerais is suitable for those seeking the tranquility and beauty of nature.

From the top of the Sanctuary, on clear days, you can have one of the most beautiful views of the mountains of Minas. There are 360-degree panorama, with a thousand and one facets of beauty that Mother Nature just offers so generously, inspiring human behavior.

In colder and cloudy days, the show is even more beautiful. The top of the Serra da Piedade reveals the breathtaking landscape of the green of the forests up and down mountains, where also one can see nine cities: Belo Horizonte, Caeté, Count, Lagoa Santa, New Union, Raposos, Sabara, Santa Luzia and Vespasian.

The beginning of everything

The Portuguese noblemen Antonio da Bracarena Silva and Brother Lawrence, founder of Caraça College, came around the eighteenth century and built in the Serra da Piedade a rustic hermitage and, next to a church dedicated to Our Lady, Santa why had great devotion .

Venerated for more than two centuries, the Blessed Virgin Mary was decreed by Pope John XXIII, through the Apostolic Letter "animia Haeret" of November 20, 1958, Patroness of the State of Minas Gerais.

To solemnize fact of such importance, came to the state capital, on May 14 the same year, the image that today worships at Serra da Piedade.

In 1956, the Architectural and Landscape of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy was listed by the Heritage Institute for National Artistic - IPHAN (the process no 526-T-55, Description 316, History Book, sheet 53; Description No. 16, Book archaeological, Ethnographic and Landscape, leaf 04, of September 26, 1956).

Pope John XXIII proclaimed Patroness Our Lady of Mercy of the State of Minas Gerais in 1958.

On July 31, 1960 is held at Freedom Square a wonderful party for the solemn consecration of the State of Minas Gerais to Our Lady of Mercy. This consecration further enhances the Shrine, consolidated its importance and tradition of jubilee and its festivals. The Sanctuary is elevated to State Sanctuary of Minas Gerais. There is the image of Our Lady of Mercy, the eighteenth century, Antonio Francisco Lisboa (Aleijadinho), magnificent, inspiring, blessing Mines and its pilgrims.

Important facts mark the year 2004: the governor sanctions Law No. 15,178 / 04 on June 16, which defines the limits of conservation of the Serra da Piedade - according to guidelines of the State Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (IEPHA ), considered an Environmental Protection Area, in compliance with § 1. Art. 84 of Act Constitutional Provisions of the Constitution of the State of Minas Gerais.

250 years of pilgrimage in faith

The Cultural Complex, Architectural, Landscape and Natural da Serra da Piedade receives the Municipal Tipping by Decree n. 2,067 / 04, of December 20, 2004 and State Conservation Unit in the category Natural Monument - Constitution of the State of Minas Gerais / 1989, art. 84 - Law 15,178 / 04.

In December 2010, the Advisory Council of the Cultural Heritage Iphan approves the tipping extension of architectural and urban whole of the Serra da Piedade in Minas Gerais.

With the extension of tipping, the protection polygon covers the old area listed by IPHAN, state and municipal overturning, and ensure good visibility, including your profile line, water resources, biodiversity and scenic aspects.

Two years later, in 2012, the Government of Mines signs a decree declaring the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mercy as Special Tourist Attractive Relevance to the state.