Basilica of the Conception of Mary (Lourdes)

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Basilica of the Virgin Mary, in the foreground the Rosary Basilica
Church with St. Mary's Grotto
Reliquary of St. Bernadette

The Basilica of the Conception of Mary is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica in the French Marian pilgrimage site of Lourdes . It is part of the holy district where the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous in 1858 . The neo-Gothic church is located west of the Rosary Basilica , holds around 550 visitors and is the second oldest sacred building in the pilgrimage complex .

history

The basilica, also called the "Upper Basilica" to distinguish it from the Rosary Basilica, was built between 1866 and 1871 above the crypt . Her consecration took place in 1876 by Monsignor Pichenot, the then Bishop of Tarbes and later Archbishop of Chambéry . The church was built over the rock of the " Mariengrotte von Massabielle" according to the plans of the architect Hippolyte Durand.

Architecture and design

The basilica - 55 meters long and 22 meters wide - is dominated by a 70-meter high main tower. The two lower side towers were not completed until 1908. There is a mosaic of Pope Pius IX above the entrance . who proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary in his bull Ineffabilis Deus in 1854 . The bells play the Ave Maria every hour, and carillons sound the two-ton bell called “Jeanne-Alphonsine” every 2 hours. The other bells are called “Geneviève-Félicie” (1800 kg), “Hermine-Benoîte” (1100 kg) and “Cécile-Gastine” (800 kg).

The inner walls are covered with votive tablets as well as flags and banners from pilgrimages. The stained glass shows various events from the history of the pilgrimage in Lourdes and the choir windows depict Mary as the second Eve .

organ

The organ was built in 1875 by the organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll . The instrument has 25 stops on two manuals and a pedal . The four pedal stops are transmissions from the Grand Orgue . The actions are mechanical.

I Grand Orgue C-g 3
Bourdon 16 ′
Montre 8th'
Bourdon 8th'
Flûte harmonique 8th'
Salicional 8th'
Unda maris 8th'
Prestant 4 ′
Octave 4 ′
Duplicate 2 ′
Plein-jeu harmonique II – V
Basson 16 ′
Trumpets 8th'
Clairon 4 ′
II Récit expressif C – g 3
Flûte traversière 8th'
Viol 8th'
Voix céleste 8th'
Flûte octaviante 4 ′
Octavine 2 ′
Trumpets 8th'
Basson-hautbois 8th'
Voix humaine 8th'
Pedale C – f 1
Soubasse (from GO) 16 ′
Flute (from GO) 8th'
Basson (from GO) 16 ′
Trumpet (from GO) 8th'

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Description on www.lourdes-france.org
  2. ↑ Information on the organ (French)

Web links

Commons : Basilica of the Virgin Mary (Lourdes)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Coordinates: 43 ° 5 '50.7 "  N , 0 ° 3' 29.6"  W.