Basilica of St. Rosa of Lima (Buenos Aires)
The Basilica of St. Rosa of Lima ( Spanish Basílica Santa Rosa de Lima ) is a Roman Catholic church in the Balvanera district of Buenos Aires , the capital of Argentina . The national shrine in the Archdiocese of Buenos Aires was dedicated to St. Rosa von Lima was consecrated as the patron saint of the independence of Argentina and bears the title of a minor basilica . The cross-domed church was built between 1928 and 1934 in the neo-Byzantine style.
history
The foundation stone for the construction of the church was laid on January 3, 1926 in the presence of the Argentine President Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear . Construction began in 1928 according to plans by architect Alejandro Christophersen by engineer Andrés Millé, who, at the request of main donors such as Maria Unzué de Alvear, was based on the French models of the Cathedral of Périgueux and Sacré-Cœur de Montmartre .
The church was under the XXXII. Eucharistic World Congress in Buenos Aires on October 12, 1934 solemnly by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli, later Pope Pius XII. , blessed. The event was attended by the Argentine President, General Agustín Pedro Justo , and the Archbishop of Lima, Archbishop Pedro Farfén , who donated a reliquary containing relics of several Latin American saints: Rosa von Lima, Martin von Porres , Toribio de Mogrovejo and Johannes Macias . The consecration took place on August 30, 1941, when the church was opened by Pope Pius XII. was awarded the rank of minor basilica.
architecture
The outside of the neo-Byzantine domed church with neo-Romanesque details was clad with bricks, granite and quarry stone, and Italian tile roofs, copper domes and decorative mosaics were added. The papal coat of arms was placed above the entrance, flanked by the coats of arms of Argentina and Peru, the place of origin of Santa Rosa.
The dome is supported by 18 columns made of green Greek Cipollino marble, which match the plinths and friezes clad in Tinos marble. The dome ends in a tall lantern that illuminates the church. The other columns and pilasters in the galleries and in the choir were also made in Cipollino, where the bases and friezes were designed with different colored marble. The apse is adorned with Venetian mosaics and houses a main altar made of Italian marble with a gold background. In it is a picture made of Carrara marble of the Rosa von Lima, flanked by four small Byzantine icons under a marble canopy.
Also in Carrara marble are the magnificent holy water basin and the Italian pulpit from Pietrasanta with carved images of Saints Thomas Aquinas , Ambrosius , John Chrysostom , Augustine of Hippo , Jerome and Gregory the Great . The two large side altars are dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Virgin of the Miraculous Medal and decorated with colorful mosaics.
A crypt was built under the church , which takes up the entire area of the church and has a separate entrance on the Pasco Street side, while the main entrance is on Avenida Belgrano . The main altar of the crypt was made in Italy and is crowned by a replica of Michelangelo's Roman Pietà . The side altar is dedicated to St. Therese of Lisieux .
literature
- Alejandro Christophersen: Santuario Nacional Santa Rosa de Lima. In: Revista de Arquitectura, Sociedad Central de Arquitectos; October 1934; Issue 160
Web links
- Official website of the basilica (Spanish)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Basílica de Santa Rosa de Lima on gcatholic.org
- ^ Santuario Nacional Santa Rosa de Lima Catálogo Acceder
Coordinates: 34 ° 36 ′ 52.1 ″ S , 58 ° 23 ′ 51.7 ″ W.