Mother Church of the Immaculate Conception (Viamão)
The Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora da Conceição is a Brazilian Catholic temple located in the city of Viamão, state of Rio Grande do Sul. It is the second oldest church in the state and the seat of the oldest parish of the Archdiocese of Porto Alegre. It is also the main architectural landmark of Viamão. The church was listed by IPHAN on July 20, 1938. Its presence organized the urbanization of the central area of the city, and its history is surrounded by legends and traditions. History From 1732 on, Rio Grande de São Pedro - as Rio Grande do Sul was known - began to attract colonizers who settled in the Viamão region. Elevated to the category of freguesia in 1747, in 1763 it received the seat of the province's government, which until then was based in Vila do Rio Grande, and that was transferred due to the Spanish invasion. Viamão remained the seat of government until 1773, when it, for practical reasons, moved to the village formed near the port of Viamão, located in the Guaíba Lake, current Porto Alegre, during the government of José Marcelino de Figueiredo. In 1880, it was dismembered from Porto Alegre to become a town and the seat of an independent municipality. This temple, dedicated to the Immaculate Conception, one of the most significant symbols of local identity, replaced a chapel founded by Francisco Carvalho da Cunha, who had settled in the fields of Viamão, in the place called Estância Grande. The rancher donated half a league of the land of his property for the construction, plus 40 mares, 4 horses, 20 cows, and two bulls, among other animals. The official permission for construction came through the ecclesiastic provision of September 14, 1741. The date was fixed as the official foundation date of the city. On May 15, 1746, the first mass was celebrated. The surrounding region quickly began to receive settlers, in 1747 the parish was created, separating it from Laguna, and the chapel received a matriz ("Mother Church") status. From then on it would centralize much of the social and political activity of the city. Besides the liturgical functions, the chapel housed brotherhoods of expressive social and beneficent performance, hosted festivities, registered marriages, births, deaths, and wills (which had civil validity), was the place for electing councilors, and in its doors were posted public notices, decrees, and laws. At the time, there was a close association between civil and religious power. The project of the church was attributed to Brigadier José Custódio de Sá e Faria, but it was built by Francisco da Costa Senne. Building began in 1766, and the first mass was celebrated by Father José Malta on April 6, 1770. It is possible that what is seen today is a third church, supposedly inaugurated on June 11, 1797. The documentation about its construction stages is not clear, but there are allusions in the books of the Irmandade do Santíssimo Sacramento that by the end of the 1780s,