Regina Pacis Basilica

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Regina Pacis Basilica, 1969

The Basilica of Regina Pacis ( German  basilica Queen of Peace ) is a Roman Catholic church in the district of Bensonhurst in Brooklyn , New York City . The parish church of the Diocese of Brooklyn was built as a votive church on the occasion of the Second World War and has the rank of a minor basilica .

history

In a Sunday mass in May 1942, Pastor Angelo R. Cioffi of the parish of St. Rosalia asked the congregation to build a Marian shrine under the title of Queen of Peace , for the safe return of the soldiers and a just peace. After construction began in 1948, Auxiliary Bishop Raymond Kearney laid the foundation stone on October 29, 1949. The church was completed in 1950 in the neo-renaissance style. The sanctuary was consecrated on August 15, 1951 by the Bishop of Brooklyn, Archbishop Thomas E. Molloy .

The Maria-Frieden-Kirche was founded in November 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI. raised to the rank of a minor basilica. On December 8, 2012, a mass was celebrated in the church under the direction of Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio in honor of this honor . In June 2017, the diocese closed the Church of St. Rosalia and built the basilica as a parish church. Over the decades, the population of the neighborhood around the church has changed significantly, with new immigrant groups from Latin America and Asia taking the place of the original Italian and Jewish residents, and masses are also read in Spanish and Chinese in addition to English.

Furnishing

Two thousand tons of Italian marble were used for the construction. The main altar was made entirely of marble from different parts of Italy, where most of the parishioners came from. A large painting of the patron saint of the church above the main altar is by Ilario Panzironi. Two pulpits were erected in the church, modeled on Italian cathedrals. 16 stained glass windows show the life of Our Lady, the Way of the Cross is represented with 15 Italian mosaics.

After the foundation stone of the church had been blessed in 1949, Cioffi asked the population to donate their personal jewelry for two gold crowns to honor the planned image of the church patroness and her son. The DeNatale Brothers company in Manhattan used the jewelry to create the crowns and stars with 600 diamonds, rubies and sapphires. The image was honored on May 24, 1952 by the attachment of two diamond-set crowns, which Pope Pius XII. personally blessed in Rome when they were presented to him in a special audience by Cioffi and the jeweler DeNatale. Only eight days after the picture was crowned, the theft of the crowns was discovered. The return by post a week later was considered a miracle by members of the parish. The jewels were reportedly returned at the behest of the local organized criminal Joseph Profaci .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Basilica of Regina Pacis
  2. ^ A b Pope Benedict XVI Elevates Brooklyn Church To Minor Basilica-This Saturday. October 31, 2012, accessed May 15, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c The History of Regina Pacis on the parish website (English)
  4. ↑ Regina Pacis and the Case of the Missing Crowns (English)
  5. ↑ Glen Fowler: A Tip Directs the FBI to Stolen Church Jewels . Ed .: New York Times. 22nd January 1973.

Coordinates: 40 ° 37 ′ 36 ″  N , 74 ° 0 ′ 13 ″  W.