page_title: Chapel of the Holy Body
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Chapel of the Holy Body / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Capela de São Pedro Gonçalves do Corpo Santo (Chapel of the Holy Body), Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Português: Capela de São Pedro Gonçalves do Corpo Santo, Salvador, Bahia.
context_page_description: The Chapel of the Holy Body is an 18th-century Roman Catholic church in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The church is dedicated to Saint Peter González; Saint Joseph is also venerated by the congregation. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Salvador da Bahia. The church is the seat of the Brotherhood de São José do Corpo Santo, which also manages the property. A large scale image of Our Father of Salvation attributed to Francisco das Chagas is located in the church.
context_section_description: The Chapel of the Holy Body was founded by Pedro Gonçalves, a Spanish sailor, in 1711. Gonçalves built the church after surviving a storm in the Bay of All Saints to fulfill a vow he made to the Virgin Mary for his survival. Gonçalves returned to Salvador in the second decade of the 18th century on a voyage from Angola. The 150 travelers on the boat were infected by smallpox and were ordered to the Ilha dos Frades by the City Council of the city for quarantine. The episode led the Portuguese Crown to authorize the Brotherhood of the Holy Body to build a hospital for sailors. The Portuguese Crown established a subsidy of 2,000 reis for each caravel that landed in Salvador and a portion of various fines charged to sailors. The hospital was never built and the city of Salvador requested that the Crown revoke the subsidy.
  The chapel has hosted numerous brotherhoods over its long history. They include the Irmandade do Glorioso São Pedro Gonçalves, the Irmandade do Senhor Bom Jesus dos Necessitados e Redenção dos Pretos do Daomé, the Irmandade de Nossa Senhora do Rosário, and the Irmandade de São José.
  The chapel served as a parish church from 1736 to 1756 until the completion of the Church of Our Lady of the Conception of Praia, now known as the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Salvador. Gonçalves built the church with a façade facing the Bay of All Saints; he later reduced the size of the structure in half and change the direction of the façade and interior. The coexistence of the brotherhoods at the church was not always peaceful. Relationships between them worsened after the War of Independence, where fighting occurred in Bahia between 1822 and 1823.
  Dr. José Eduardo Freire de Carvalho Filho, Intendant of Salvador, ordered a major modification of the church in 1902. Rua Santos Dumont, an avenue behind the church, was enlarged. This required a reconstruction of the façade of the church. The church now faces a narrow street and numerous small businesses.
  The church has undergone numerous renovation and refurbishment in the 20th and 21st century. The roof, window frames, railings, and linings were repaired in 1952. The church closed for renovation in 2009. Work only began on the project 2016 and the church reopened in 2018. The ceiling of the church, once painted blue, appeared to have been gilded early in the history of the church. The interior of the nave and chancel were entirely covered in gold leaf as part of the renovation.
caption: View of nave and chancel
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon EOS 6D Mark II", "Image XResolution": "609", "Image YResolution": "609", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic 7.5 (Windows)", "Image DateTime": "2019:01:05 14:54:00", "Image Artist": "Paul R. Burley", "Image ExifOffset": "262", "GPS GPSVersionID": "[2, 3, 0, 0]", "GPS GPSLatitudeRef": "S", "GPS GPSLatitude": "[12, 292031/5000, 0]", "GPS GPSLongitudeRef": "W", "GPS GPSLongitude": "[38, 307713/10000, 0]", "GPS GPSAltitude": "20", "GPS GPSTimeStamp": "[13, 42, 9943/200]", "GPS GPSSatellites": "4", "GPS GPSStatus": "A", "GPS GPSMeasureMode": "3", "GPS GPSDOP": "19/5", "GPS GPSMapDatum": "WGS-84", "GPS GPSDate": "2018:09:28", "Image GPSInfo": "824", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1188", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "18543", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "500", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF RecommendedExposureIndex": "500", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0230", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:09:28 08:58:47", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:09:28 08:58:47", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "5906891/1000000", "EXIF ApertureValue": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "4", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "24", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "1248000/187", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "4160000/619", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "022021001190", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[24, 105, 0/0, 0/0]", "EXIF LensModel": "EF24-105mm f/4L IS II USM", "EXIF LensSerialNumber": "6323002804"}