Juazeiro do Norte Attractions
Juazeiro do Norte
Juazeiro do Norte, near the southern tip of Ceará (528km/328mi south of Fortaleza), is one of Brazil's principal pilgrimage centers. It was the home of Padre Cícero Romão Batista, whom many people in north-eastern Brazil revere as a saint.
Bus station
Avenida Castelo Branco
History
Until the middle of the 19th century the most important town in the Cariri valley, one of the most fertile areas in the agricultural state of Ceará, was Crato; then, in the latter half of the century, it began to be displaced in that role by Juazeiro do Norte, largely because of the work of Padre Cícero Romão Batista, a priest who had opposed the Roman Catholic authorities and had been suspended from his office but who in the eyes of ordinary people was a wonderworker and a saint. Padre Cícero and his supporters set the pattern of local politics, and his memory is still very much alive today.
Juazeiro do Norte, near the southern tip of Ceará (528km/328mi south of Fortaleza), is one of Brazil's principal pilgrimage centers. It was the home of Padre Cícero Romão Batista, whom many people in north-eastern Brazil revere as a saint.
Bus station
Avenida Castelo Branco
History
Until the middle of the 19th century the most important town in the Cariri valley, one of the most fertile areas in the agricultural state of Ceará, was Crato; then, in the latter half of the century, it began to be displaced in that role by Juazeiro do Norte, largely because of the work of Padre Cícero Romão Batista, a priest who had opposed the Roman Catholic authorities and had been suspended from his office but who in the eyes of ordinary people was a wonderworker and a saint. Padre Cícero and his supporters set the pattern of local politics, and his memory is still very much alive today.
House of Miracles
Casa dos Milagres
Adjoining the chapel, on Praça do Socorro, is the Casa dos Milagres (House of Miracles), containing votive offerings from people who had been helped by Padre Cícero.
Adjoining the chapel, on Praça do Socorro, is the Casa dos Milagres (House of Miracles), containing votive offerings from people who had been helped by Padre Cícero.
Logradouro do Horto
Logradouro do Horto
5km/3mi from Juazeiro do Norte is Logradouro do Horto, with fourteen Stations of the Cross comprising 56 concrete figures. Here too is a 27m/90ft high statue of Padre Cícero. The chapel dedicated to him draws great numbers of pilgrims.
5km/3mi from Juazeiro do Norte is Logradouro do Horto, with fourteen Stations of the Cross comprising 56 concrete figures. Here too is a 27m/90ft high statue of Padre Cícero. The chapel dedicated to him draws great numbers of pilgrims.
Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro
N.S. do Perpétuo Socorro
Opposite the Memorial is the chapel of Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro (1908), which contains the tomb of Padre Cícero.
Opposite the Memorial is the chapel of Nossa Senhora do Perpétuo Socorro (1908), which contains the tomb of Padre Cícero.
Museu Cívico Religioso Padre Cícero
Museu Cívico Religioso Padre Cícero
The Padre Cícero Museum, housed in his last residence, contains his personal possessions, photographs and stuffed specimens of animals bred by him.
The Padre Cícero Museum, housed in his last residence, contains his personal possessions, photographs and stuffed specimens of animals bred by him.
Padre Cícero Memorial
Padre Cícero
Memorial
The Padre Cícero Memorial preserves religious objects, documents and photographs commemorating Padre Cícero and illustrating his great influence in Juazeiro do Norte in the early years of the 20th century.
Memorial
The Padre Cícero Memorial preserves religious objects, documents and photographs commemorating Padre Cícero and illustrating his great influence in Juazeiro do Norte in the early years of the 20th century.
