Basilica of Our Lady of Tongre
The Basilica of Our Lady of Tongre ( French Basilique de Notre-Dame de Tongre ) is a Roman Catholic parish church in the village of Tongre-Notre-Dame in the municipality of Chièvres in the Belgian province of Hainaut . The pilgrimage church of the Tournai diocese is an old place of devotion to the Virgin Mary , which dates back to 1081. The current church with the rank of a basilica minor dates from 1777, it was built on the foundations of a Gothic church from the 13th century.
history
The history of the church goes back to a local Marian apparition on February 1, 1081, when the local ruler Hector saw the statue of the Virgin Mary in an apparition of light and music in his garden. After the figure was first brought to the church in Tongre-Saint-Martin, it reappeared twice in the square. He then conferred with the Bishop of Cambrai , Gerald II , who, after investigations, had the statue venerated. Over the centuries three churches have been built here for the seated image of the Madonna and Child. In 1093 Pope Urban II founded the Brotherhood of Our Lady of Tongre, which still exists today . Because of the miracles and privileges attributed to the Virgin Mary, an intense pilgrimage to Tongre began. The miracles were written down in 1642 by Rev Abbott Georges, this work shows the fervent devotion to the sanctuary of Our Lady of Tongre.
Several important people visited the sanctuary and knelt before the Madonna, including King Philip I of France, Maria Theresa of Spain and Marie Henriette of Austria , Queen of the Belgians. As homage to the Virgin Mary, they gave many gifts (golden crowns, sweaters woven with gold or silver, relics, luxury clothing for the Madonna) and thus established the treasury of the basilica.
Since the 17th century, Marian devotion spread across the southern Netherlands and northern France. The cult was then spread by Belgian priests. Pope Leo XIII. approved the coronation of the picture by Bishop Isidore Rousseaux for the 800th anniversary of the discovery in 1881, Pope Pius XII. elevated the church to the rank of minor basilica on April 25, 1951.
architecture
As early as March 1081, the construction of a Romanesque chapel began at the place where the statue of Mary was found . When this became too small for the pilgrimage in the 13th century, the construction of a Gothic church began in 1224. This three-aisled church was equipped with a tower and choir . The original chapel was in the place of the left aisle. In 1777 it was decided to build a larger church. This current church was designed by the architect Demarbaix in a baroque style. The construction of today's church is based on the foundations of its Gothic predecessor and was completed in 1780. The three-aisled basilica is 60 meters long and 20 meters wide. The central nave has six bays , the choir with its round apse has two. The narrow aisles are designed as corridors. The church tower stands behind the round apse of the choir on the higher side of the church. The magnificent entrance facade could be designed freely. It is divided into two floors and is reminiscent of the Renaissance, the masonry is plastered. In front of it, two pairs of columns frame the central entrance, above which hangs a tympanum by Antwerp's Pierre Peteers-Divoorts from 1912. On the upper level, the columns frame a high window, above which a triangular gable closes the facade. The statue of the Virgin Mary, restored in 1968, is in the left side altar and therefore at the place where it was found.
Web links
- Website of the municipality (French)
Individual evidence
- ^ Basilique Notre-Dame de Tongre on gcatholic.org
- ^ Churches with Canonically Crowned Images on gcatholic.org
- ↑ Architecture (French)
Coordinates: 50 ° 34 ′ 53.8 " N , 3 ° 46 ′ 31.5" E