Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida

The town of Aparecida, Brazil, houses two Basilicas dedicated to the National Patron Saint, the "Appeared --from the Apparition of the-- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary", better known as Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, or Our Lady of Aparecida: the "Old Basilica", built between 1760 and 1770 and restored from 1824 to 1834, which was established as a Minor Basilica by Pope Saint Pius X in 1908, and the "New Basilica," dedicated by Pope John Paul II in 1980.

This much larger building became necessary due to the popular devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida, from whom many Brazilian Catholics claim to have received favors and pay her homage by visiting the temple and bringing ex-voto offerings or by fulfilling vows such as by approaching the shrine of the dark wooden statue of the Madonna (or its replica) found by fishermen in the River Paraiba on their knees. Thus, in 1955 construction of new Basilica started. Architect and fresco painter Benedito Calixto designed a building in the form of a Greek cross, 173 m (567 ft) long and 168 m (551 ft) wide; the dome reaches 70 m (229 ft) and the steeple rises to 105 m (334 ft), placing it also amongst the largest churches in the world, holding up to 45,000 people. The 272,000 square meters of parking hold 4,000 buses and 6,000 cars.

The building was consecrated by Pope John Paul II while still under construction, on July 4, 1980. The Pope created the church as a Minor Basilica and named it the most important National Marian Shrine in Brazil.

The New Basilica is now the second or third largest Catholic place of worship in the world, depending on definitions of size. St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is the largest and the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Ivory Coast has been mentioned as the second largest but consists mostly of empty, unused space. In 1984, Our lady of Apparecida was officially declared as "the largest Marian Temple in the world." According to the official site of the basilica, in 1999 the number of pilgrims was 6,565,849.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the Basilica of the Shrine of Aparecida on May 12, 2007, during his Apostolic Journey to Brazil on the occasion of the 5th General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Pope awarded the Shrine a Golden Rose on that occasion.

See also

  • Roman Catholic Marian churches

References

A series of articles on
Roman Catholic
Mariology

General articles
Overview of Mariology •
Veneration of the Blessed Virgin • History of Mariology

Expressions of devotion
Art • Music • Architecture

Specific articles
Apparitions • Saints • Popes • Dogmas and Doctrines • Movements & Societies

External links

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Marisa Teresinha Meirelles
18 October 2014
Espetacular arquitetura
Fernando Faria
14 August 2016
The place is beautiful and full of hope. Visit the miracle's room (visite a sala dos milagres).
thiago Aceito Todos #tim #beta #lab
Fee move montanhas
Mariceli Zanini
28 September 2014
Cheguei ...
Cris H
9 February 2017
Arquitetura linda, missa emocionante. Minha melhor surpresa foi levar meu dog e ele ter acesso a praticamente todas as dependências (só não consegui entrar com ele no teleférico). Vale o passeio!
Junior Duarte
17 July 2018
Que Lugar abençoado, todos os sentidos ficam muito ligados e a emoção que você sente é tão grande, vale muito a pena ter um tempo pra visitar encher as baterias de Paz ...
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