BRAZIL / São Paulo

São Paulo, Catedral Metropolitana de Se.

The São Paulo See Metropolitan Cathedral.

The São Paulo See Metropolitan Cathedral --"See" and "cathedra" mean "seat" and therefore the ecclesiastical authority of a bishop or archbishop (Portuguese: --Catedral Metropolitana, or Catedral da Sé de São Paulo) is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of São Paulo, Brazil. The current Metropolitan Archbishop of the archdiocese is His Eminence, Cardinal Odilo Pedro Scherer. Its construction, in Neo-Gothic style, began in 1913 and ended four decades later. It was ready for its dedication on the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the then humble villa of São Paulo by Chief or Cacique Tibirica' and the Jesuit priests Manuel da Nobrega and Jose' de Anchieta. Despite having a Renaissance-styled dome, the São Paulo Metropolitan Cathedral is considered by some to be the 4th largest neo-gothic cathedral in the world.