The Church of São José do Desterro, like most of the colonial religious temples in São Luís, was rebuilt several times, especially after the battles between the Portuguese and the Dutch that marked the city’s history.
First buildings
Originally, the church was a small chapel thatched with straw, with the main door facing the sea (where the high altar is now) and not Rua da Palma, as it is today.
The hermitage was founded with St George as its patron saint, according to the Anais Históricos da Província do Maranhão (1849), and later consecrated to Our Lady of Good Time.
Dutch invasions
In 1641, when the Dutch invaders landed on the beach of Desterro with a squadron of more than a thousand men to take the city, the hermitage had already been consecrated to Our Lady of Desterro.
The invaders desecrated it and destroyed the image of their patron saint. After the invaders were driven out, the church was rebuilt with its own confraternity.
Igreja de São José do Desterro em São Luís do Maranhão
Conflict with the Mercedarians
It was the same confraternity that, in 1654, embargoed the construction of a convent that the Mercedarian friars João Cerveira and Marcos Natividade wanted to build on the site of the church and adjacent land.
The Convento das Mercês was built nearby, in the same neighbourhood as the Desterro, which at the time was home to Portinho, the main port of São Luís and of vital importance to the city.
Read more about the history of the Mercês Monastery
Reconstructions and Imbalances
The second building was constructed, this time with the front facing the Square, where the Rua da Palma ends and the streets of Precipício, Desterro and Caela begin.
It is believed that this second church lasted for around a century and was the second most important church in the capital, as there are records of processions that left from the cathedral under the command of Bishop Frei José Delgarte.
At the beginning of the 19th century, the church of Desterro was completely abandoned and its structure lay in ruins until it collapsed in 1832. It was thanks to the dedication of a poor black man called José Lé that the church was rebuilt.
He used his own resources and searched the forests for wood, stone and lime. He did not live to see his work completed, but it was continued by the clerk José Antônio Furtado de Queixo and given to the people in 1839, now as the Church of São José do Desterro, in honour of the two men who built it, consecrated to Saint Joseph.
Abandonment and restoration
This third hermitage didn’t last long either. After the scribe’s death, it once again fell into neglect, and gold and silver pieces, which formed one of the most valuable religious collections in the city, were stolen.
The city council wanted to demolish what was left of the temple to build a square and a fish market on the site. But the worshippers wouldn’t allow it.
At the behest of the bishop and with the financial support of the Association and the patronage of the Ladies of Maranhão, the new church was inaugurated with a Mass on 21 November 1869. A railing on the bell tower bears the inscription 1868, the date when the work was completed.
Restoration and architectural features
The church was closed fifty years later. The image of the patron saint was taken to the Cathedral and the other relics to Our Lady of the Rosary.
St Joseph’s was reopened in 1943 and underwent restorations in 1954, 1975, 1981 and 1994. That year the four bells were blessed with the names of São José, São Luís, Santa Bárbara and São Jerônimo.
The church of Desterro has a pentagonal floor plan, unlike other churches in the region. The high altar has a stone floor and the altarpiece has neoclassical features, surmounted by images of tools, alluding to the profession of St Joseph.
The image of the saint stands on six steps. However, we don’t know the source of inspiration for the pediment, which consists of four ogives, three smaller and one larger, crowned by a cross.
Conclusion
The Church of São José do Desterro, located in Largo do Desterro, Rua da Palma, represents an important part of the history and culture of São Luís do Maranhão and the Brazilian Northeast.
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