Marked by a skylight in the shape of a cross, a spotlight of sunshine pools on the tiled base and pews below. Row upon row of windows are stacked in steadily narrowing circles towards the top. To the north, south, east and west, the colors of the rainbow come together and flow across glass to speak of the four Marks Una, Santa, Catholic and Apostolic. Bathing the central chapel in tinted light, the figures illuminated on the panels look ethereal.

To Edgar Fonseca, the Rio de Janeiro Cathedral was meant to be more than just another addition to Brazil’s deeply religious culture. It was meant to reflect Brazil’s indigenous roots which is how the current Cathedral came to be. Built in the 1970s, this Cathedral is unlike any you’ve seen before with the shape of a curved pyramid as an ode to the Mayan pyramids. Of all the churches which have served as the seat of the archdiocese, this is both the most recent and the most unique. The unadorned concrete structure only reveals its beauty from within, four stained glass masterpieces stretching from floor to ceiling catching anyone’s attention the moment you step in. Under the care of the patron of Rio, Saint Sebastian, this is an ecclesiastical site with an exceptionally unique and unexpected appeal.