Shrine of Our Lady of Europe

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Shrine of Our Lady of Europe

The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe ( English Shrine of Our Lady of Europe ; Spanish Santuario de Nuestra Señora de Europa ) is a Roman Catholic pilgrimage church and a national shrine on the southern tip of the Gibraltar peninsula ( Europa Point - Punta de Europa ). Under the title Our Lady of Europe , Catholics venerate Mary as the Patroness of Gibraltar and Europe . Pope John Paul II put their feast day on May 5th,Europe day .

history

The Moorish conquest of the Iberian Peninsula began in 711 at the point that is now called Europa Point . A mosque was built here to commemorate this . In 1309 Gibraltar became Castilian during the Reconquista . The mosque was converted into a church and dedicated to Our Lady of Europe . In 1333 the headland became Moorish again and the place of worship Islamic , and in 1462 it was again Castilian and Catholic. After that, the veneration of the Virgen de Europa took off and spread throughout the European Mediterranean area .

In 1704, Gibraltar was captured by British - Dutch troops in the War of the Spanish Succession . The Protestant conquerors looted the church and smashed the miraculous image of the Madonna and Child. However, the fragments could be salvaged and put back together. The sculpture was brought to Algeciras .

The church building was used for military purposes. It was not until 1961 that the British administration left it to the Diocese of Gibraltar . At that point it was in ruins and unusable as a church. The first rector Louis Orfila (1926-2010) worked with great energy for the restoration. On September 28, 1962, Bishop John Farmer Healy celebrated the first Mass within the walls. On October 7, 1967, the Virgen de Europa returned from Algeciras to their sanctuary. The solemn consecration of the church was carried out by Bishop Edward Rapallo on October 5, 1980. From 1994 , a complete renovation and expansion was carried out , partly from EU funds. Its conclusion was celebrated in 1997 with a solemn enthronement of the miraculous image. For the 700th anniversary in 2009, Pope Benedict XVI. the sanctuary the golden rose . In April 2011, the World Youth Day Cross stopped here.

Building

The architecture of the single-storey church, which is plastered white on the outside, is simple. Despite the changes in the 1960s and 1990s, Moorish and Romanesque forms are still visible inside . The bell tower was added in the 20th century. It is visible across the Strait of Gibraltar .

The miraculous image of Our Lady of Europe , an approximately 60 cm high, colored and crowned wooden sculpture of Mary with the child, is dated to around 1500.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ gcatholic.org
  2. ↑ a b gibraltar.costasur.com
  3. ↑ a b c A short History of the Shrine
  4. ↑ His grave is in the church ( Monsignor Louis Orfila ).
  5. ↑ a b c d A short History of the Shrine (Continued)

Web links

Commons : Sanctuary of Our Lady of Europe  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 36 ° 6 ′ 40.7 ″  N , 5 ° 20 ′ 54 ″  W.