Basilica of Our Lady of Victory (Lackawanna)
The Basilica of Our Lady of Victory ( english Our Lady of Victory Basilica ) is a Roman Catholic National Shrine and a minor basilica in Lackawanna in the US state of New York . The church of the Buffalo Diocese was built in 1926 and is dedicated to Mary of Victory .
history
After damage to the old parish church of St. Patrick, Father Nelson Baker (1842–1936) made the decision to build an important new building. After the last mass in 1921, the demolition and then the new construction of the Marienkirche began by the architect Emile Ulrich, which was completed without debt in 1925 thanks to the very successful fundraising from Baker. The first mass was celebrated in the Church of Our Lady of Victory at Christmas. On May 25, 1926, the church was consecrated by Bishop William Turner of the Diocese of Buffalo and Cardinal Patrick Hayes . Thousands of priests, nuns and believers from across the country attended the event. Two months later, Pope Pius XI awarded second in the United States to the rank of minor basilica.
architecture
The church was built as a central dome structure with a nave. The main and short side aisles and the southern choir, which is closed off by a round apse, extend from the central transept dome of the church. The northern entrance of the nave is formed by towers that have been shortened after storm damage and a semicircular arcade. At the main entrance of the basilica there is a domed niche in which there is an 8-meter-high, 8-ton statue of Our Lady of Victory. The central dome over a drum is covered with copper and is 50 meters high and 24 meters in diameter and was the second largest in the country after that of the Capitol in Washington, DC when it was built. The exterior of the basilica was made almost entirely of white Georgia marble clad and decorated with Italian marble in forty-six different types and colors, both indoors and outdoors.
On four sides of the dome there is a 5.5 meter high copper angel blowing trumpets. The large colonnades that extend outward from the entrance each feature a marble sculpture of a group of children protected by a guardian angel. On the east colonnade, the children are led by a nun who represents the sisters of St. Joseph. On the west colonnade you can see Father Baker, whose statue was erected without his knowledge.
Interior
The ceiling of the dome is decorated with an image of the Assumption , surrounded by the twelve apostles and three archangels. It illuminates the in Rome by Pope Pius XI. blessed altar made of Italian marble with a three meter high Madonna and the ciborium based on the work of Bernini in St. Peter's Basilica . The 14 Stations of the Cross were also made of marble by the Italian Pepini over a period of just as many years. The church is also equipped with some magnificent side altars, including for St. Patrick, and elaborate leaded glass windows.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Our Lady of Victory Basilica and National Shrine at gcatholic.org
- ↑ Architecture (English)
- ↑ Interior of the Church (English)
Coordinates: 42 ° 49 ′ 32.9 " N , 78 ° 49 ′ 25" W.