Chapel of Our Lady of Help (Cachoeira)

The Chapel of Our Lady of Help is notable in Bahia for the simplicity of its design and proportions. It consists of a nave, chancel, sacristy, porch, and bell tower. The church has a simple, central portal of wood with a window on either side. The church roof is of two types: a gable roof over the nave and a cupola of tiled brick over the chancel. The bell tower and choir are accessed via an external stairway, a feature common to other early churches in Brazil. Two choir windows and an oculus sit above the porch. The church is flanked by a small pyramidal bell tower with a tin roof; it is of later construction. The interior of the chapel has images of Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Benedict, Saint Lucia, Saint Cajetan (Saint Caetano), and Saint Peter. The pulpit is surmounted by a stone stair.^[5][2][3]

The chapel is noted for its porch, which is covered by a sloping roof and surrounded by a wooden railing; the porch was once a closed narthex to the church. Chapels with a porch of this type in Bahia are only found in churches built in the 16th and 17th century; its design closely resembles that of Chapel of Our Lady of the Ladder (Capela de Nossa Senhora da Escada) in Salvador and the Chapel of Saint Joseph of Jenipapo (Capela de São José do Jenipapo) in Castro Alves. The church portal is accessed from the porch and has a low window on either side.^[5][2][3]

The small attached hall to the right of the building dates to the 19th century.^[1]

The Chapel of Our Lady of Help was listed as a historic structure by the National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage in 1939. Both the structure and its contents were included in the IPHAN directive under inscription number 198.^[2][4]