Basilica of Our Lady of Sameiro

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Side view of the basilica

The Basilica of Our Lady of Sameiro ( Portuguese Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Sameiro ) ( Sanctuary of Sameiro ) ( Portuguese Santuário do Sameiro ) is a Roman Catholic church with minor basilica and Marian shrine status in the vicinity of the city of Braga , Portugal . It is the first Portuguese church to be dedicated to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception proclaimed in 1854 .

location

The pilgrimage site of Our Lady of Sameiro is located on a western vantage point above Braga. The wide staircase with some figures of saints extends over a length of 300 meters about 40 meters up the slope, dominated by the basilica standing at 566  m . It is one of the most visited places of Marian devotion in Portugal and every year it attracts many believers during pilgrimages from the first Sunday in June to the last Sunday in August. A Lourdes grotto in the complex refers to the French pilgrimage site Lourdes with the same patronage.

basilica

The construction of the complex began on July 14, 1863 under the direction of Father Martinho da Silva. The first work of art in the complex was a marble statue of the Virgin by the Italian Emídio Carlos Amatucci. A first chapel was completed in 1880 and housed the image of the patron saint, which the sculptor Eugenio Maccagnani created in Rome and brought to the sanctuary in 1880.

High altar

Construction of the church began with the laying of the foundation stone in 1890 by the Archbishop of Braga, Antonio Honorato. The single-nave church was built as a cruciform church in the neoclassical style with a high dome as a crossing tower and a double tower facade with the bell towers . In 1904 there was a coronation of Mary , the crown of which Roque Gameiro (1892–1944) had made for the statue of Mary with the help of donations. The solemn coronation took place on June 12, 1904, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception. In 1941, the granite high altar with flanking red marble columns and the statue of the Virgin Mary in the center, which also includes a silver tabernacle, were consecrated. In 1953 the church was completed. A crypt was built for the pilgrims in 1979, in which Father Martinho da Silva was buried. In 2004, an illuminated cross was placed on the dome over an armillary sphere .

meaning

The church was given in 1964 by Pope Paul VI. awarded the rank of minor basilica . Pope John Paul II visited the Marian Shrine on May 15, 1982 and awarded it the Golden Rose in 2004 . The church is listed in the Portuguese register of monuments.

Web links

Commons : Basilica of Our Lady of Sameiro  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Sameiro on gcatholic.org
  2. ↑ map
  3. ↑ Santuário do Sameiro on erasmusu.com
  4. ↑ a b Santuário do Sameiro, “monumento da gente portuguesa” à Imaculada Conceição from 2015
  5. ↑ Santuário de Nossa Senhora da Conceição do Sameiro on monumentos.pt (port.)

Coordinates: 41 ° 32 ′ 30.6 "  N , 8 ° 22 ′ 11.4"  W.