Porto Itaguaçu
The riverside place associated with the finding of the image in 1717, with the Chapel of the Miraculous Catch and the Caminho do Rosário.
Porto Itaguaçu in 2010. This riverside view predates the 2024 revitalization and does not show the current complex.
- Location
- Aparecida, São Paulo, Brazil
- 22.8583° S · 45.2543° W
- Type
- Riverside devotional site
- Time Needed
- 1 hour
Return to the river.
At Porto Itaguaçu, the scale of the Aparecida story changes. The basilica gives way to the Paraíba do Sul and to the memory of three fishermen trying to bring home a catch. Begin by looking at the water, then enter the Chapel of the Miraculous Catch for a prayer of thanksgiving.
The place remembered in the 1717 account.
According to the sanctuary’s historical tradition, João Alves, Felipe Pedroso, and Domingos Garcia found the body and then the head of a small image of the Immaculate Conception in the river in 1717. An abundant catch followed. Porto Itaguaçu recalls that finding; the original image is venerated in the National Shrine. The river landscape is the origin of the devotion, not the location of a Marian apparition.
The Chapel of the Miraculous Catch and the fishermen’s memorial give the story a visible setting beside the river. The sanctuary reopened the revitalized site in 2024. The photograph on this page was taken in 2010 and should be read as an earlier riverside view, not as a record of the present buildings.
Return to the river.
From Porto, the Caminho do Rosário leads toward Cidade do Romeiro over about 1.1 kilometers. Twenty scenes present the joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries through sculptures by Blas and Angela Servín. Pray one group of mysteries, or pause at a single scene; the walk need not become a count of all the figures.
- 01 The river before the chapel The Chapel of the Miraculous Catch and the fishermen’s memorial give the story a visible setting beside the river. The sanctuary reopened the revitalized site in 2024. The photograph on this page was taken in 2010 and should be read as an earlier riverside view, not as a record of the present buildings.
Spiritual Significance
From Porto, the Caminho do Rosário leads toward Cidade do Romeiro over about 1.1 kilometers. Twenty scenes present the joyful, luminous, sorrowful, and glorious mysteries through sculptures by Blas and Angela Servín. Pray one group of mysteries, or pause at a single scene; the walk need not become a count of all the figures.
Do Not Miss
-
01
Capela da Pesca Milagrosa
The chapel names the miraculous catch remembered in the sanctuary’s tradition. Pray here before beginning the Caminho do Rosário.
Visit Plans
-
1 Hour
Keep an unhurried interval for prayer and the principal sacred focus. Allow longer if you join a celebration or continue the devotional walk.
How to Visit
-
Begin
At Porto Itaguaçu, the scale of the Aparecida story changes. The basilica gives way to the Paraíba do Sul and to the memory of three fishermen trying to bring home a catch. Begin by looking at the water, then enter the Chapel of the Miraculous Catch for a prayer of thanksgiving.
-
Allow space
Leave a margin around the sanctuary’s current liturgical schedule. On outdoor approaches, carry water and adapt the walk to heat, rain, and your own strength.
-
Continue
Return to the National Shrine for prayer, or use the Aparecida guide to place this visit within two unhurried days.
Plan around the current sanctuary program
The National Shrine publishes visitor information for this part of Aparecida. Use it to confirm access and the day’s pastoral activities.
- Time allowance
- An hour, longer with the Rosary walk
Practical considerations
Outdoor walking is exposed to heat and rain. Confirm current access with the sanctuary, and shorten the walk when conditions or mobility require it.
Additional schedule notes
October pilgrimage
October 12 and the preceding novena change crowd levels and travel times. Consult the current annual program before making arrangements.
Continue Your Pilgrimage
-
City hub
Aparecida
Where this church sits within the wider Catholic geography of Aparecida.
-
Shrine
National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
Brazil's national Marian sanctuary, centered on the small image found in the Paraíba do Sul in 1717 and on the prayer of the pilgrims who come before it.
-
Church
Basilica Histórica of Aparecida
The basilica inaugurated in 1888 on the earlier sanctuary site, preserving the scale and continuity of Aparecida before the National Shrine.
-
Shrine
Passarela da Fé
The pedestrian crossing between Aparecida's two basilicas, carrying pilgrims through the city in thanksgiving, petition, and ordinary prayer.
-
Shrine
Morro do Cruzeiro
The hill above Aparecida where the Via Sacra leads through fourteen stations to the cross, especially associated with Lent and Holy Week.
Map
Santuário Nacional / A12 supplies the historical account and current visitor information. Operational details should be confirmed with the sanctuary.
September 22, 2026
Photo credits
- Hero. PORTO ITAGUAÇU - APARECIDA-SP - panoramio. Photo: CORRETOR-CARVALHO. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Source. CC BY-SA 3.0.