Basilica of Our Lady of Grace

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Facade of the basilica
Altar of the basilica

The Basilica of Our Lady of Graces ( English Basilica Our Lady of Graces ) is a Roman Catholic church in Sardhana , 19 km northwest of Meerut in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh . The church in the diocese of Meerut is consecrated to the Mother of God and has the title of a minor basilica .

history

The mercenary Walter Reinhardt Sombre , who came from Central Europe, married Begum Samru , a 14-year-old dancer who succeeded him as ruler of the Principality of Sardhana after his death in 1778. She converted to Catholicism in 1781 and took the name Joanna Nobilis. Nobilis is considered the only Catholic ruler in India. She decided to establish and finance a church in Sardhana. The construction was carried out with valuable materials by important craftsmen. Two large lakes near the church are the result of the clay mining for the bricks of the church building. According to an inscription, construction is assumed to begin in 1809, and completion probably took place in 1822.

At the request of the Begum Samru to the Pope to make Sardhana an independent administrative district, Pope Gregory XVI founded. 1834 the Apostolic Vicariate Sardhana from parts of the Apostolic Vicariate Tibet-Hindustan and appointed Julius Caesar Scotti as Apostolic Vicar. The church thus became the cathedral of Sardhana. Scotti was the only Vicar Apostolic, however, and eventually the Sardhana Apostolic Vicariate was merged with that of Agra. In 1961 the church was the only church in North India by Pope John XXIII. raised to the rank of a minor basilica.

architecture

The architect of the church was Antonio Reghellini , an Italian from Vicenza . The church is based on St. Peter's Basilica with influences from Andrea Palladio and Indian architecture. In front of the portal there is a veranda with Greek columns. Two towers and three magnificent domes rise above the basilica, one of which illuminates the sanctuary through stained glass windows.

Furnishing

Tomb of Begum Samru

The altar and its surroundings were made of marble and decorated with semi-precious stones. The rest of the interior of the church is also largely made of marble, which has been processed with the highest level of craftsmanship.

The high tomb of Begum is located near the chancel. It was carved by the Italian sculptor Adamo Tadolini and transported from Italy first to Calcutta and then in boats and ox carts from there to Sardhana. It depicts the Begum Sumru on the throne with a scroll of Emperor Shah Alam II , who transfers her Sardhana as a fief after the death of her husband.

Web links

Commons : Basilica of Our Lady of Grace  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Basilica of Our Lady of Graces on gcatholic.org
  2. ↑ The Sardhana Project. Retrieved December 2, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Dasgupta Devashish: Tourism Marketing . 2011, ISBN 978-81-317-3182-6 ( google.com ).
  4. ^ Edward Arthur Henry Blunt: List of Inscriptions on Christian Tombs and Tablets of Historical Interest in the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh. Allahabad 1911, p. 17 ( archive.org ).

Coordinates: 29 ° 8 ′ 51.6 ″  N , 77 ° 36 ′ 59 ″  E