Notre-Dame-du-Cap basilica
The Notre-Dame-du-Cap Basilica is a Roman Catholic church in Trois-Rivières in Quebec , Canada . The national shrine in the Diocese of Trois Rivières is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and has the rank of a minor basilica .
history
As the first church in the Cap-de-la-Madeleine district, a small wooden structure was built on site in 1694. This was replaced by a stone church in 1720. The hand-cut beams of the wooden church were used to build the new stone church.
After a long time without a pastor, the parish life was stronger again in the second half of the 19th century, which triggered efforts for a larger church. The transport problems of the material were solved in 1879 over the icy St. Lawrence River with a narrow, more than two kilometers long ice bridge, which allowed the construction material to be transported on horse-drawn sleighs for a week. In October 1880 the church was completed and dedicated to Mary Magdalene . The old stone church was consecrated to Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary and developed into a pilgrimage church from 1883. The first pilgrimage to the sanctuary took place on May 7, 1883. A way of the cross with bronze statues was built under Pastor Janssone. In 1902 the Order of the Oblates of the Immaculate Virgin Mary took care of the shrine. From 1906 they installed a path of the rosary , this leads to a series of bronze statues, cast in France, each depicting one of the fifteen traditional mysteries of the rosary.
In October 1904, Pope Pius X approved the canonical coronation of Our Lady of the Cape.
The new church, opened in 1888, was demolished in 1963 to make way for the current basilica. In 1964 the church was consecrated and received by Pope Paul VI. the rank of minor basilica. The Oblates continue to care for the sanctuary that Pope John Paul II visited in September 1984. Father Janssoone was beatified by Pope John Paul II on September 25, 1988.
architecture
The basilica designed by the architect Adrien Dufresne in the Norman-Gothic style was opened in 1964 and can accommodate up to 1660 people. Reinforced concrete arches, founded 30 meters deep, characterize the interior of the octagonal building with a length of 79 meters and a width of 60 meters. The pyramid-shaped dome rises 38 meters high without columns. Above it, the skylight of the roof has a diameter of 14.5 meters and carries a 4.5 meter high cross, the top of which reaches a height of 78.5 meters above the ground. The bell tower houses five bells.
Furnishing
The altar table consists of a block of Calacatta marble with golden veins. It measures 3.35 meters and weighs three tons. The Madonna figure was recreated in Carrara marble based on the statue of the old church. The Casavant organ has 75 registers with 5425 pipes. The stained glass windows come from the Dutch oblate Father Jan Tillemans.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Basilique Notre-Dame-du-Cap on gcatholic.org
- ↑ a b Basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Cap on musiqueorguequebec.ca (French)
- ↑ The pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Cape Shrine, Quebec (English)
- ↑ a b The Basilica on sanctuaire-ndc.ca (English)
Coordinates: 46 ° 22 ′ 5 ″ N , 72 ° 29 ′ 51 ″ W.