Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida

The Basílica de Nossa Senhora Aparecida in Aparecida — near Taubaté — serves as Brazil's national cathedral and is among the most visited Marian pilgrimage sites in the world. Construction began in 1955 to a neo-Romanesque design, its prominent dome rising visibly above the surrounding city. The object of veneration is a small, dark-hued terracotta statue of the Virgin Mary, which fishermen are said to have pulled from the Paraíba do Sul river in 1717. Every year on 12 October — Brazil's national holiday dedicated to Our Lady — millions of pilgrims converge on the basilica for the main feast day. The building is listed as a cultural heritage monument by the São Paulo state authority Condephaat.