La Merced Basilica (Buenos Aires)

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The Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Merced ( German  Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy ) is a Roman Catholic church in Buenos Aires , the capital of Argentina . The former monastery church of the Mercedarians was consecrated to Mary , the Mother of God , under the invocation of Mary from the ransom of the prisoners . The church of the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires bears the title of a minor basilica and is protected as a historical cultural asset.

history

Portal of the basilica
Interior of the basilica

Soon after the city was founded in 1580, the Mercedarians came in 1589 and built a small clay church with wooden and thatched roofs in 1603, which was dedicated to the Virgen de las Mercedes and served the adjoining monastery.

In 1721 the construction of a permanent and larger church began. The architects were the Italian Jesuits Giovanni Andrea Bianchi and Giovanni Battista Primoli, who had already built several churches in Buenos Aires. In 1733 the nave with the dome, the choir and the crossing were completed. The further work on the left-hand bell tower, for example, dragged on until 1779.

During the reconquest of Buenos Aires during the first English invasion , Santiago de Liniers led the attack on the southern Plaza Mayor from the churchyard in 1806. In 1809, the marriage of future President Bernardino Rivadavia to Juana del Pino was blessed in the Church of La Merced.

The Mercedarians had to leave the country in 1823 due to reforms under Martín Rodríguez and his minister Bernardino Rivadavia . In 1829 the church became a parish church and the monastery building was used as an orphan school. In 1894 the building was extensively remodeled, the facade of which was renewed by the architect Juan Antonio Buschiazzo. The interiors were also worked on by various artists who created murals and stucco work that added luster to the sober colonial interiors. The works were inaugurated on April 24, 1900.

In 1917 Pope Benedict XV bestowed the church has the rank of a minor basilica. With the decree of May 1942, the basilica was declared a Historic Monument. In 1954, some ornaments from 1894 were removed during renovations by the architect Andrés Millé. From 2001 to 2007 there was another restoration.

Web links

Commons : Basilica La Merced  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Merced on gcatholic.org
  2. ↑ a b c d La Basílica como libro de historia

Coordinates: 34 ° 36 ′ 19.4 ″  S , 58 ° 22 ′ 19.4 ″  W.