Six small chapels (called the Passos do Senhor) line the slope leading up to the sanctuary, each one housing a tableau of polychrome wooden figures depicting a scene from the Passion of Christ. The chapels are simple white boxes from the outside; inside, the carved scenes are intense, theatrical, full of restrained gesture and unsettling expression — quite different in feel from the monumental prophets above.
The figures were carved between 1796 and 1799 by Aleijadinho and his workshop assistants, who also painted them. The Last Supper chapel is the most reproduced, with its long table of disciples reacting individually to Christ's announcement of betrayal. The chapels open at the same time as the sanctuary and are part of the standard visit.