Basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria
The Roman Catholic Basilica of Our Lady of Bonaria ( Basilica di Nostra Signora di Bonaria ) in Cagliari , together with the old pilgrimage church Santuario di Bonaria and the monastery complex of the Mercedarians, forms the largest pilgrimage center in Sardinia . It is dedicated to the mother of God Mary as the patron saint of the island and the seafarers.
The Chiesa di Nostra Signora di Bonaria is about 3.0 km from Osilo .
history
The Bonaria hill ("good air", "good wind") is located southeast of the historic center of Cagliari. Alfonso IV of Aragón , who conquered all of Sardinia from Bonaria in 1323/24, built a citadel on the hill with a church dedicated to the Trinity and Our Lady, today's Santuario . In 1335 he left the facility to the Spanish-based order of the Mercedarians, who made it their extensive branch that still exists today. The place soon became a spiritual center and pilgrimage destination.
In 1370 the miraculous image of Our Lady of Bonaria came to the church, where it has been highly venerated ever since. Legend has it that it washed up on the bank in a box that is still on display in the pilgrimage center today; the Madonna had a burning candle in her hand. The box had previously been thrown into the sea by a ship's crew in distress, whereupon the storm and waves immediately subsided.
The veneration of the Blessed Virgin of Bonaria spread rapidly among sailors in Sardinia and throughout the Mediterranean, especially in Spain, to which the island belonged until 1714. When Pedro de Mendoza reached the mouth of the Río de la Plata in 1536 after a stormy voyage , he founded a settlement there, which he named Santa María del Buen Aire in thanks to the Signora di Bonaria , which became Buenos Aires .
As early as 1704 the Mercedarians began building the spacious pilgrimage basilica next to the old church. However, the work was repeatedly interrupted for political and financial reasons and continued with changed architectural designs.
Today's church was essentially built during the last phase of construction from 1910 to 1920. During World War II , it was badly damaged by an Allied bombing raid in 1943 . The restoration dragged on until 1998.
In 1926 Nostra Signora di Bonaria received the rank of minor basilica . Pope Benedict XVI visited her in 2008 and awarded her the Golden Rose .
building
Old pilgrimage church
The 14th century sanctuary is a small Gothic hall church with a simple Renaissance facade. Inside it has a pointed barrel vault , flat wall pillar chapels and a round apse . In it stands above the altar under a ciborium the 1.56 m high miraculous image made of carob wood , the crowned Madonna with the seated Jesus child on the left arm and a burning candle in a ship model in the right hand. Pilgrims can approach the miraculous image via a staircase behind the altar. A small ship hangs in the apse apse, which is said to have rotated to indicate the direction of the wind in the Gulf of Cagliari .
In the cloister of the monastery is a museum that with votive offerings documented from all eras the history of devotion to Mary of Bonaria.
basilica
The 1920 completed large church, which was added to the south parallel to the old, is a neo-Baroque three-aisled domed - basilica to cross floor plan with flat closing chorus . The narrow aisles are lined with chapels. The central piece of equipment is an altar ciborium on marble columns with a gilded crown, the opening of which frames the monumental painting on the rear wall of the choir. This was created in 2001 by the Sardinian artist Antonio Corriga (1923–2011) and illustrates the rescue of sailors by the Madonna of Bonaria. A copy of the miraculous image stands on the southeastern crossing pillar. The side chapels are equipped with further images of the Virgin Mary, the sacrament chapel with a depiction of Emmaus .
Web links
- The pilgrimage site and the Basilica of the Madonna of Bonaria - Cagliari ( Memento of June 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
Coordinates: 39 ° 12 ′ 30.6 ″ N , 9 ° 7 ′ 32.7 ″ E