He Basilica Cathedral National Shrine of Our Lady of Conception Aparecida, also known as National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida, is a Catholic religious temple located in the Brazilian municipality of Aparecida, in the interior of the state of Sao Paulo . It is the largest Catholic temple in Brazil and the second largest in the world, smaller only than St . Peter`s Basilica in the Vatican . It is the largest cathedral in the world, as the Vatican Basilica is not a cathedral . It is also the largest religious space in the country, with over 143,000 square meters of built area throughout the Sanctuary . View from the west and south faces of the cathedral . Photo taken in December, 2013, Aparecida, Sao Paulo, Brazil .