[1][4][3] Gusmão founded the church to educate the sons of Portuguese settlers in the Recôncavo; students of mixed, African, and Indian descent were excluded from the seminary.

The family of Aragão de Menezes donated land for the establishment, which was located near an Indian village.

In contrast, students at the Jesuit seminary in Salvador remained with their family and attended without paying tuition.

[1][2][3] The Church of the Seminary of Belém is located in the middle of the larger side of a large-scale lawn.

According to an inventory of 1760 carried out after the expulsion of the Jesuits, the entire estate consisted of a large seminary residence, the church, slave quarters, and a well that supplied fresh water.

[3] The church is the only structure that remains from the original architectural complex; the slave residences, or senzala, were of adobe construction.

[2] The Church of the Seminary of Belém consists of single nave and cross sacristy, flanked by lateral corridors, superposed by galleries and tribunes.

[1][2] The Church of the Seminary of Belém is noted for its rich Chinese-influenced ceiling paintings by Charles de Belleville (1657-1730), a Jesuit painter, sculptor, and carpenter.

It has a background in black with stylized passionflower (Passiflora edulis, native to Brazil), lilacs, and peonies, all in bright pink and white.

[5][6] The Church of the Seminary of Belém once had a rich collection of images and altar in marble with incrustations.