ConventodeSantaTeresa

The origin of the Santa Teresa neighborhood is linked to the construction of the Convento de Santa Teresa and its church, listed as heritage sites in 1938.

In the late 1620s, Antônio Gomes do Desterro built a small chapel on his estate, on the hill known as Morro do Desterro. Nearby lived the sisters Jacinta and Francisca Rodrigues Aires, devotees of the Spanish saint Teresa d'Ávila, founder of the order of the Discalced Carmelites. Along the path they took to attend the religious services held at the chapel there was an abandoned farm, the Chácara da Bica, and, with the help of their uncle, Captain-Major Manuel Pereira Ramos, they acquired the land and established there an order devoted to contemplation, meditation, and isolation. In 1742, they built a modest chapel consecrated to the Menino Jesus (Christ Child). According to an account by Joaquim Manuel de Macedo:

Image description: This is a painting depicting a historic urban scene. On the left side, we see a building with a red roof and windows arranged horizontally. In front of it, there is a paved street with people walking and a man riding a horse. In the background, there is a large and majestic aqueduct, built with arches and columns. On the right, there is a house with a red roof and windows also arranged horizontally. In the upper right, we see a hill covered with trees and a structure with a tower.

Os trabalhos progrediam com uma atividade infatigável. Os operários aproveitavam todas as horas do dia, e à noite, ao clarão do luar, os curiosos viam os vultos brancos de duas mulheres silenciosas que sobre seus ombros carregavam pesadas pedras para junto das paredes que se levantavam. Eram elas as duas irmãs que esqueciam o descanso, e o sono, e a delicadeza do seu sexo, levadas pelo desejo ardente de verem mais depressa acabada a sua capela.

Image description: This is a photograph of an arched corridor, characteristic of a convent. On the left side, we see a series of columns supporting a wooden ceiling. Moving toward the right, the arches become wider and less frequent. In the background, through the arches, we see a building with windows and a green area with plants. The floor is made of stone, and the natural lighting creates interesting shadows on the columns and the ground.

The Chácara da Bica became an informal convent that attracted other young religious women, since there was no official convent for women in the city at the time. There, they lived under the strict monastic rules of the Carmelites. The sisters' great devotion caught the attention of the then governor Gomes Freire de Andrade, the Count of Bobadela, who ordered the construction of a convent at the Desterro chapel.

Image description: This is a photograph of the interior courtyard of a convent. The image shows a white building with open arches on each side, allowing a clear view of the interior. In the foreground, there are several rectangular garden beds containing young plants and small shrubs. The building's walls are white, with some areas where the exposed brick is visible. The windows have closed grilles and are spaced along the walls. The roof is made of red tiles, and the courtyard floor is made of red bricks. The sky is light blue, indicating a sunny day.

Thus, on 06/24/1750, the cornerstone was laid. The author of the project was José Fernandes Alpoim, one of the leading names in 18th-century colonial architecture, also responsible for other important works such as the Carioca Aqueduct, the Casa dos Governadores (now Paço Imperial), and the cloister of Mosteiro de São Bento. In 1780, the convent was canonically professed to the Carmelites, and Morro do Desterro finally became Morro de Santa Teresa.

Mass is held at the church, and the outer entrance can be visited.