garage-kapel

On June 20th, 1954... 

the first mass was held at the Mercado Central in Belo Horizonte... 

at the first celebration of Easter for Merchants. 

It was a pioneering event. 

On the occasion, a priest from the Saint Joseph Church was designated to celebrate mass in the atrium and on the stairs of the former State Health Department, today Minascentro.

The movement grew... 

and involved traders, their families and friends. 

It was then that a Portuguese trader, who frequented the Easter festivities at the Market, donated an image of Our Lady of Fátima as a form of thanks. 

The saint became the patroness of the Market. 

From then on, at Easter time, the image was exposed... 

for visitation by devotees.

In 1964... 

the Municipal Market was bought by traders and renovated. 

Among the improvements, the shed received another floor, the parking lot, and in it a chapel was built to house the image of the Virgin of Fátima. 

Merchants requested its recognition, and in 1972, at the Inaugural Mass, Archbishop Dom João Rezende Costa ratified the recognition of the Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Fátima by the Archdiocese of Belo Horizonte.

From the 1980s onwards... 

the Market obtained a special authorization... 

an initiative of the chaplains, to develop in the community all the activities that make up a parish pastoral work. Since 1993, Padre Elias Floriano dos Santos, vicar of the Parish of Nossa Senhora Aparecida do Alto Vera Cruz, works as chaplain in the Capela do Mercado.

In 1994... 

a new renovation was carried out... 

to expand the space of the Chapel. 

At the reopening, Dom Serafim celebrated Easter at the Market with a big party. 

Throughout all these years, volunteers, friends, merchants and associates carried on the religious movement that started in the 50's, opening the opportunity for the participation of residents of the region neighboring the Market.

Since December 2009... 

mass in the Capela do Mercado Central is held... 

every Sunday at 7am.

[bron]