Case file · Sacred site
Cave shrine of Bom Jesus da Lapa
In 1691 a Portuguese man, Francisco de Mendonça Mar, settled as a hermit in a limestone cave above the São Francisco river in Bahia with an image of Christ. The cave became one of Brazil's largest pilgrimage shrines.
1691 CE · -13.26, -43.42 · status: account
The account
Pilgrims, many of them from the sertão, come in August for the feast. The hermit was later ordained and took the name Francisco da Soledade.