Basilica of Our Lady of Montserrat
The Basilica of Our Lady of Montserrat (Spanish: Basílica Menor Nuestra Señora de la Monserrate ) is a Roman Catholic church in Hormigueros , Puerto Rico . It is dedicated to the Virgin of Montserrat . It belongs to the diocese of Mayagüez and has the status of a basilica minor and a sanctuary .
history
The church is located on the highest hill in the city and was built on the foundations of a chapel that was on the land of the Catalan regional landowner Don Gerardo González. This original chapel is vaguely dated to 1590, the piece of wood from a coffin is estimated to be 1570 using the radiocarbon method.
The current church is dated to the end of the 18th century and received changes in the 19th century.
building
The basilica was laid out in the classic Puerto Rican fashion with a rectangular floor plan, three naves and a dome over the choir . The bell tower with Mozarabic elements on the left follows the plan of the entire structure in its base and has an octagonal shape from the level of the roof to the top of the cross. An icon with a silver frame from the beginning of the 17th century is venerated in the church by pilgrims. The altarpiece was created by the Puerto Rican artist Jose Campech (1751–1809) in the last years of the eighteenth century. The furnishings also include three excellent wood carvings from the same period depicting Our Lady of Montserrat (a black Madonna), St. Joseph and St. Anthony .
A huge staircase made of Spanish bricks leads up to the basilica and gives the whole object a monumental aspect.
In 1696, a country house was purchased as a pilgrim house for the then chapel. It is located at the back of the basilica and has been renovated several times over the centuries while maintaining the basic structure. The building is now used as the rectory of the basilica.
Awards
Bishop Fernando de Valvidia y Mendoza declared the hermitage of Hormigueros canonically a sanctuary in 1720 .
The basilica and its rectory were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
In 1998 Pope John Paul II elevated the church to a minor basilica . Only the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in the capital had previously received this rank on the island .
Web links
- Menor Nuestra Señora de la Monserrate Basilica on the Hormigueros website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Santuario de la Monserate de Hormigueros and Casa de Peregrinos at the National Park Service
- ^ Santuario Basílica Nuestra Señora de la Monserrate on gcatholic.org
Coordinates: 18 ° 8 '26.3 " N , 67 ° 7' 37.5" W.