The town of Candeias, located in the bay of Todos os Santos, attracts thousands of worshippers and revellers every year during the religious festival of Nossa Senhora das Candeias, a celebration that mixes the sacred and the profane, accompanied by much joy and excitement.

The colonisation of the region began in the 16th century, starting with the land grants that led to the Matoim sugar mill, owned by the Antunes family, and the Caboto and Freguesia mills. All suffered serious setbacks during the Dutch invasion, when the Dutch set fire to the plantations.

The village was founded around 1640, when the Jesuits established the Pitanga mill and built a chapel in honour of the Virgin Mary. At that time, a story spread that a blind woman had regained her sight after bathing in the waters of a small stream near the priests’ mill.

The alleged miracle attracted many people and the village grew up around the stream which, after being channeled, became the Fonte dos Milagres (Fountain of Miracles). The expansion of the chapel gave rise to the Igreja Matriz de Nossa Senhora das Candeias (Mother Church of Our Lady of Candeias).

The place became known as Candeias, a place of religious devotion and pilgrimage, with a population made up mainly of artisans and religious sculptors, a situation that remained unchanged over the following centuries.

From 1941, with the discovery of oil wells and the presence of Petrobras in the region, the profile of the village changed.

The availability of jobs led to an increase in the population, and in 1958 the village was granted the status of an emancipated municipality. Like other towns in the Recôncavo, Candeias preserves vestiges of colonisation, and its festivals attract large crowds.

See the map of Todos os Santos Bay

History of Candeias, Bahia

Origin of the municipality

The origins of the parish of Candeias date back to the middle of the 16th century, from the land known as Matoim, an important land grant, as it was home to the Caboto Mills and the parish of Nossa Senhora da Encarnação do Passé.

Meaning of the name

The name Candeias comes from the devotion to the Virgin of Candelária, also called Our Lady of Candeias. Oral tradition suggests another explanation: the abundance of wood, called candeia, used by pilgrims to make torches when climbing the cliff to the Igreja Matriz (Mother Church).

The sugar cane cycle

The region experienced the height of the sugarcane cycle, which was fundamental in the formation of Bahia and the Recôncavo, shaping its ethical, cultural and socio-economic structure. Near the Engenho Freguesia sugar mill, the village of Caboto was born, which focused on sugar transport, trade and fishing. The sugar mills marked the heyday of the sugar economy, especially in the 1560s.

Historical heritage

In Passé is the Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation of Passé, one of the oldest in Bahia, representing the transition between rural chapels and churches of the late 17th century.

Crop growth

With the growth of sugar production, the number of mills and mill houses in the region increased. The introduction of the steam engine encouraged the creation of mills, changing the local reality and forcing many mill owners to sell or abandon their properties.

A mill in Pitanga

At the beginning of the 20th century, the pitanga plant flourished in Nossa Senhora das Candeias, which was connected to the capital by a railway line. A notable event during this period was the story of a blind child who was said to have been cured after bathing in the waters of the Fonte dos Milagres (Miracle Fountain), near the church.

The pilgrimage ritual

From then on, the village of Nossa Senhora das Candeias was visited by pilgrims from all over the Recôncavo Baiano. This ritual was repeated year after year, with visits from pilgrims that completely changed the reality of the village.

The pilgrims made use of the villagers’ homes, which were transformed into guesthouses, offering food and rest. Trade flourished with the sale of food, religious souvenirs and fireworks.

Residents even sold samples of the town’s soil, as pilgrims believed that these souvenirs would have healing properties after being blessed at the Church of Our Lady of Candeias.

Bottles of water from the Fonte dos Milagres (Miracle Fountain) were also sold, which pilgrims eagerly snapped up to take home as souvenirs.

Transition to industry

The industrial city, born with the sugar mills, took its current shape thanks to the oil exploration and refining activities. The city has an irregular topography, with many hills in the centre and in the suburbs, and a southern territory similar to that of ancient Greece, with intersecting areas that facilitated the creation of several ports. The city has established itself as an important centre in the Recôncavo.

The discovery of oil

But the real change came in 1941, when oil was discovered on the land of local farmers.

In 1930, two selfless Bahians, Manoel Bastos, a surveyor, civil engineer and self-taught geologist, and Oscar Cordeiro, then president of the Bahia Commodities Exchange, believed in the existence of oil in Bahia.

They persisted until the black gold gushed out in Lobato, a suburb of Salvador, without much initial success. However, oil did appear in Candeias.

After the first sign at Lobato, the operators decided to follow the accumulation at Candeias. The same probe used in the Lobato well, the diesel-powered No. 04 Oilwell, was moved to Candeias on a truck with a winch and with the help of several oxen.

The well was drilled at the São Paulinho farm, owned by Colonel José Barbosa Ferreira, and on 29 June 1941 the black gold gushed out, giving birth to Well C-01 (Candeias-01), Brazil’s first commercial oil well.

The visit of Getúlio Vargas

This fact attracted the attention of the then President of the Republic, Getúlio Vargas, who visited the town on 23 June 1952 and displayed a historic photograph of his hand covered in oil. From that moment on, the village was completely transformed.

The village was invaded by groups of skilled and unskilled workers from all over the world. Oxen were used to pull the oil rigs and thus the city of Candeias was born.

Emancipation of the municipality

Finally, on 14 August 1958, Candeias was emancipated from Salvador, and this date is celebrated every year in the municipality.

Points of interest in Candeias, Bahia

1. Nossa Senhora das Candeias Mother Church

The church, built in 1894, belongs to the Franciscan Friars Minor. Our Lady of Candeias, associated with fertility, purification by water, illumination by fire and the cult of Iemanjá, is celebrated on 2 February, together with the Carnival Cry.

The Religious Festival of Nossa Senhora das Candeias, which culminates on this date, attracts thousands of believers and revelers every year, in a mixture of sacred and profane, accompanied by much joy and excitement.

The celebrations are also famous in the local Micareta, to the sound of electric trios.

2. Candeias Supply Centre

The popular food market also sells handicrafts. It is an excellent place to discover the gastronomic specialities of the region and find a unique gift.

3. Engenho da Freguesia – Wanderley de Pinho Museum

The protected architectural complex is also known as the Engenho da Fábrica (Factory Mill) because, in addition to the main house, the slave quarters and the chapel, built in the style of the 18th century, it also housed a sugar factory.

The mill belonged to the Baron of Cotegipe (1815-1889) and was inherited by his grandson, José Wanderley de Araújo Pinho, patron of the Museum that operates there today. The museum’s collection includes paintings, sculptures, china, furniture and agricultural machinery.

The mill is located in Aratu Bay, in the middle of the Atlantic Forest, in an environmentally protected area.

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História do Museu Wanderley Pinho em Candeias BA

4. Fountain of Miracles and Sanctuary of Our Lady of Candeias

Next to the fountain, a large crowd of pilgrims arrive to fulfil their promises. There is a votive room and a shop selling religious items nearby.

5. Matoim Mill

The first constructions of the large house, the slave quarters and the church were built by the Antunes family, who were granted the land in 1584. This family of New Christians was targeted by the Inquisition between 1591 and 1595.

According to Angelo Adriano Faria de Assis, a researcher at the Federal University of Fluminense, in the Brazilian History Magazine (2002), Heitor Antunes maintained an active clandestine synagogue on the premises of the mill.

When he died, his wife Ana Rodrigues buried him according to Jewish rituals, an act that led to her arrest, where the octogenarian eventually died. Even after her death, she was tried and convicted by the Tribunal of the Holy Office.

The mill was destroyed by the Dutch in 1624 and rebuilt by the Rocha Pitta family in the 18th century. The Town House and Chapel that remain of the estate, now listed buildings, are open to visitors.

6. Church of Our Lady of the Incarnation of Passé

Located on a natural viewpoint overlooking the Bay of All Saints, this 17th century temple, now in ruins, is considered one of the largest and oldest in Bahia.

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