Basilica of Our Lady of Șumuleu Ciuc
The Basilica of Our Lady ( Romanian Bazilica Sfânta Maria ) is a Roman Catholic church in Șumuleu Ciuc , Transylvania , Romania . The monastery church bears the title of a minor basilica .
prehistory
The Franciscans probably settled in the area in the 14th century and built a monastery and the first Gothic church on the site between 1442 and 1448 . The Hungarian general Johann Hunyadi promoted the construction of the church with the help of the booty he had won by defeating the Turks. The church was dedicated to the Visitation of the Virgin Mary , which is still valid today. The church and monastery were surrounded by a strong stone wall into which local residents fled from enemies in the centuries that followed. Nevertheless, there were pillages and abductions.
The monastery buildings were repaired and enlarged several times in the 16th and 17th centuries. Only a portal and a cellar window remain from the first monastery. The completion of the monastery in its present form took place between the years 1773 and 1779. In 1802 the decision was made to build a larger new building for the church.
basilica
The new baroque church was built from 1804 by the architect Konstantin Schmidt. The construction of the two towers was completed in 1830, and 1834 is said to be the year the church was completed. The church was consecrated on August 20, 1876 by Mihály Fogarassy, Bishop of Transylvania . The church is 58 meters long, the nave 22 meters and the presbytery 17 meters wide. The height of the main nave is 18 meters, while the height of the tower to the cross is 55 meters. The copper statue of the Virgin Mary on the facade was made in 1837 by the chaser Rothenbacher from Kronstadt, now Brașov . The front door of the church was created by Félix Názán in 1838. The church furnishings come mainly from Miklós Papp, a painter and sculptor from Kronstadt. The side altars were created at the beginning of the 19th century during the construction of the church. The most valuable part of the furnishings is the gilded, larger than life statue of the Virgin Mary with Jesus in her arm in the high altar from the 16th century. Numerous votive tablets are installed in the Gnadenkirche .
Pope Pius XII elevated the church to a minor basilica in 1948 . On June 1, 2019, Pope Francis celebrated a mass in the basilica as part of his visit to Romania and awarded the Virgin of Csíksomlyó with a Golden Rose . At Pentecost there is always a big pilgrimage.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Church description on welcometoromania.ro (Engl.)
- ↑ Bazilica Sfânta Maria on gcatholic.org
- ↑ Pope Francis celebrates Mass at Transylvania's Marian pilgrimage shrine. June 2, 2019, accessed October 9, 2019 .
Coordinates: 46 ° 22 ′ 43.1 ″ N , 25 ° 49 ′ 30.1 ″ E