Basílica Menor Santa Capilla
The Basílica Santa Capilla is a Roman Catholic chapel in Caracas , Venezuela . It belongs to the parish of the nearby Caracas Cathedral . The chapel, which is dedicated to the perpetual adoration of the Holy Sacrament , has the titles of a minor basilica and a national shrine and has been declared a Monumento Histórico Nacional.
prehistory
The first Holy Mass in Caracas is said to have been celebrated on the site of today's basilica . The hermitage of San Sebastián was built here in 1567 and was dedicated to San Mauricio in 1640. Only a year later, the building was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt in 1667 using simple building materials such as wood and bricks. The building was then almost completely destroyed by the earthquake in 1812, the reconstruction was never completed, the tower was never erected. In 1883 the remains of the hermitage of San Mauricio were demolished according to the decree of the Venezuelan President Antonio Guzmán Blanco of March 26th that year.
Church building
Guzmán Blanco gave the architect Juan Hurtado Manrique (1837-1896) the commission to build today's chapel based on Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. Construction began on February 2, 1883 and was completed on August 1 of the same year in the neo-Gothic style. The chapel has been redesigned several times. In 1889, work began on expanding the chapel, which included the construction of the tower and the extension of the nave . These were completed in 1891. But as early as 1900 the chapel was severely damaged by an earthquake and the tower collapsed. In 1921 the chapel was extended by two aisles. On August 5, 1926, the chapel was opened by Pope Pius XI. elevated to a minor basilica .
The basilica was partially destroyed again by the earthquake on July 29, 1967 with a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale, so that it was in great danger of collapsing, especially the portico with tower. The basilica was then to be rebuilt as precisely as possible to the original design, including the reconstruction of columns, the Gothic masonry decorations and angel figures that adorn the central tower and the two smaller side towers. On February 16, 1979, the basilica was declared a Monumento Histórico Nacional with the Official Gazette No. 31,678 .
Furnishing
The furnishings of the basilica include a large high altar , impressive stained glass windows , antique bronze lamps and the painting La multiplicacion de los panes y peces by the Venezuelan painter Arturo Michelena from 1897. There are also some grave sites of important personalities under the chapel floor.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Basílica Santuario de Santa Capilla on gcatholic.org
- ↑ a b Basílica Menor de Santa Capilla on IAMVenezuela.com
- ↑ a b Basilica Menor Santa Capilla (Caracas)
- ^ Iglesia Santa Capilla
Coordinates: 10 ° 30 '22.3 " N , 66 ° 54' 50.4" W.