Benedito Calixto was contracted for the design, called Filho in the infobox and Neto in the text. It is a Romanesque Revival Greek cross. Earthwork on the hill ran from 1952 to 1954, and construction began on November 11, 1955. The Brasília Tower, with a metal structure donated by President Juscelino Kubitschek, was built first, and work then moved to the central dome. Further wings followed from mid-1972. It was consecrated on July 4, 1980 while still under construction. The article names no materials.
It gives the cross arms as 617 feet (188 m) long and 600 feet (183 m) wide, the dome as 230 feet (70 m) and the tower as 358 feet (109 m). The internal space is 25,000 square meters.
John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis have visited. It is Brazil's national shrine and, since 2016, the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Aparecida.
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