In August 2018, I visited Brasília. The city is particularly inhospitable to pedestrians, so I engaged a local guide with a car, Juan Luis Hermida, one of the very best I have ever encountered. Atheist Oscar Niemeyer achieved the apotheosis of his nearly eight-decade architectural career with the Cathedral of Brasília, which was completed in 1970, a dozen years after its cornerstone was laid in 1958. In 1990, the cathedral’s outer roof was lined with stained glass, now filling the ineffable place of worship with color and light, where the nave is overlooked by three angelic statues. The city was created on a grand scale, more for automobiles than pedestrians, so the streets and plazas were generally devoid of people, except for a few protesters in front of the Palace of the Supreme Court calling for the release of Lula, the former president, from prison so he can run in the election scheduled for October 2018.