at a glance

bordered by the neighborhood of caju, são cristóvão, praça da bandeira, centro, cidade nova and gamboa, and situated near the zona central of rio de janeiro, santo cristo is an area that strongly represents carioca culture and its heritage - it was named after the church of the holy christ, a portuguese catholic church that influenced its development.

rio's population is primarily catholic -  when the  portuguese landed in the port of santo cristo in 1850, it was said that they arrived safely due to the santo cristo dos milagres (saint christ of the miracles) a statuette of christ jesus, which they carried with them on their journey from the island of terceira.

after arriving in santa cristo, the colonizers established the brotherhood of santo cristo dos milagres in 1873, which became a larger catholic parish in santo cristo and helped to spur residential development in the area.