Saint Sebastian Cathedral or Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian is the main cathedral in the city, and it’s the center of the Catholic Church and the Brazilian diocese. The church is dedicated to Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of the city of Rio de Janeiro.
At first glance, the cathedral in Rio is reminiscent of the ancient Mayan pyramid, and it was designed so that it would not look like any other church, but just an ancient extinct civilization. Because of this, the unique conical shape of the cathedral actually has a flat top, which is identical to the Yucatan pyramid and is designed to symbolize the closeness of people to God. The cathedral was designed by Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca.
Today’s cathedral was built between 1964 and 1979. A group of architects, engineers, and even priests are responsible for the unique architecture of the cathedral, who worked together on creating its unique design. The main engineers on the project were Newton Sotto Major and Joaquim Correa, and the interior was designed by Father Paulo Lachen Maeir. The cathedral was designed by Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca.
The exterior of the cathedral will amaze you, but its interior in no less impressive as well. The interior of the cathedral takes about 8.000m2, and all together it can fit around 22.000 people.
Entrance to St. Sebastian's Cathedral is FREE.
Inside the cathedral there is a museum that you can visit.
Opening hours of St. Sebastian's Cathedral
The cathedral is open daily from 09:00 to 17:00
