The Sé Cathedral, formally the Cathedral of Our Lady of Grace, stands in the centre of São Tomé town as the most significant religious building in the country. Built in the 1570s — when the island was one of the wealthiest sugar-producing territories in the Atlantic world — the cathedral reflects the ambitions of Portuguese colonial Christianity: a substantial stone church with twin towers, barrel-vaulted interior, and decorative stonework drawn from the Manueline tradition.
The interior is spare and well-maintained. The wooden choir stalls are original, and the nave carries several memorial stones to Portuguese governors who died on the island. It is a working parish church, so hours for visitors are limited to outside of services. The surrounding square, Praça da Independência, is the heart of the old town and worth a slow circuit in the early morning or at dusk.