Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
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Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
| Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida Basílica do Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida |
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Basílica do Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida |
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| Basic information | |
| Location | Aparecida, Brazil |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Minor basilica |
| Architectural description | |
| Architect(s) | Benedito Calixto |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Specifications | |
| Capacity | 70,000[1] |
| Length | 568 feet (173 m) |
| Width | 551 feet (168 m) |
| Height (max) | 328 feet (100 m) |
| Dome height (outer) | 229 feet (70 m) |
The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida is a prominent Roman Catholic Latin-rite Basilica located in Aparecida, Brazil. It is dedicated to the Our Lady of Aparecida, (a variant of the Immaculate Conception) as the principal Patroness of Brazil. Its official title in Portuguese is Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, roughly translated as Our Lady of Conception who Appeared. As of 2011, it enjoys the greatest Marian pilgrimage in the world, ranking above Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Lourdes[2].
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History
The present basilica was constructed on top of a chapel which initially housed the statue found by a group of fishermen who had difficulty harvesting fishes in 1717. A reference to the appearance of the head, then the body of a statue of the Virgin Mary in the Paraiba river to fishermen who were having a hard time catching fish for a dinner to the nobleman who slept over in their village. The statue itself is believed to be imported from Portugal.
The older basilica is a modest small church with colonial architecture was built between 1760 and 1770 and restored from 1824 to 1834. It was established as a minor basilica by Pope Saint Pius X in 1908. The second new basilica was built in 1960. Pope John Paul II visited the shrine in 1980 and dedicated the shrine under Our Lady of Aparecida, dated October 12. The shrine is also called Our Lady of Nazareth by other local Christians.
In 1955, Benedito Calixto began the construction on the new basilica which encompassed 272,000 square meters of parking space. It was consecrated in Pope John Paul II while the building was under construction on July 4, 1980.[3]
Pope Benedict XVI visited the Basilica of the Shrine of the 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.[4] The Pope awarded the Shrine a Golden Rose on that occasion.
See also
References
- ^ Capacity - Basilica of Aparecida
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFmEPgib5hs World's biggest Shrine attracts more than 10 million visitors in Aparecida, Brazil
- ^ Prayer of John Paul II in the Basilica of Aparecida
- ^ Address of His Holiness Benedict XVI
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida |
Coordinates: 22°51′2.10″S 45°14′1.81″W / 22.850583°S 45.2338361°W
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