Porto Alegre
Religion Percentage Number
Catholic 73.15% 995,330
Protestant 9.33% 126,879
No religion 8.16% 110,959
Spiritist 4.29% 58,380
Jewish 1.15% 15,627
Jehovah 's Witnesses 0.45% 6,092
Demographics -- Religion
Main article : Religion in Brazil The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a temple in Porto Alegre .
Porto Alegre (UK: /ˌpɔːrtuː əˈlɛɡreɪ/, US: /- ɑːˈleɪɡri, ˌpɔːrtoʊ əˈlɛɡrə/, local Portuguese: [ˈpoɾtu aˈlɛɡɾi] (listen);[a] lit. Joyful Harbor) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Founded in 1769 by Manuel Sepúlveda, its population of 1,481,019 inhabitants (2016) makes it the tenth most populous city in the country and the centre of Brazil's fifth largest metropolitan area, with 4,405,760 inhabitants (2010). The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian state. Porto Alegre was founded in 1769 by Manuel Jorge Gomes de Sepúlveda, who used the pseudonym José Marcelino de Figueiredo to hide his identity; but the official date is 1772 with the act signed by immigrants from the Azores, Portugal. The vast majority of the population is of European descent. The city lies on the eastern bank of the Guaíba River (also referred to as a lake), where five rivers converge to form the Lagoa dos Patos (Lagoon of the Ducks), a giant freshwater lagoon navigable by even the largest of ships. This five-river junction has become an important alluvial port as well as a chief industrial and commercial center of Brazil. In recent years, Porto Alegre hosted the World Social Forum, an initiative of several non-government organizations. The city became famous for being the first city that implemented participatory budgeting. The 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches was held in Porto Alegre in 2006. Since 2000, Porto Alegre also hosts one of the world's largest free software events, called FISL.