The Mercês Church

The engineer José Muzilli projected the Mercês church, being approved by the Capuchin superior on February 6th, 1925. The Friars lost no time and on June 26th, 1926, began the foundations of the church. The cornerstone was blessed on September 26th, 1926 by D. Friar João Braga, then the Archbishop of Curitiba.

On September 15, 1929, the archbishop blessed the new and present church of Nossa Senhora das Mercês. The opening party took place on September 29th, 1929.

The belfry of the church with its 52 meters and over a thousand meters above sea level, was inaugurated in 1949 and became an architectural novelty because it was built separately from the church. The tower was inaugurated without the bells, which came 11 years later, cast in Bassano del Grappa, Italy. After many customs difficulties, the bells arrived in Curitiba on April 6, 1952, being blessed by the Archbishop Manuel da Silveira D'Elboux. On June 8, 1952, when Fr. Nereus J. Bassi was the pastor of the church, the bells rang for the first time.