Roman Catholic Marian churches
Encyclopedia
The construction and dedication of Marian churches is often indicative of the Mariological trends within a period, such as a papal reign. For instance, the 1955 rededication by Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
of the church of Saint James the Great in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, with the new title Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
The Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after St. Joseph's Oratory and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City...
, was a reflection of his being called the most Marian pope. A year earlier, Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
had proclaimed that title for the Virgin Mary in his 1954 encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
Ad Caeli Reginam
Ad Caeli Reginam
Ad caeli reginam is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII, given at Rome, from St. Peter's, on the feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the eleventh day of October, 1954, in the sixteenth year of his Pontificate. The encyclical is an important element of the Mariology of Pope Pius XII...
. This encyclical on the Queenship of Mary is an example of how the interplay between churches and Marian art reinforces the effect of Marian devotions.
The beginnings
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
indicates that the practice of meeting together was an important part of the Christian faith from the very early days: "let us not give up the habit of meeting together… instead, let us encourage one another all the more" (Heb. 10:25). Prior to the fourth century, Christians worshiped in private due to persecutions. After the edict of Milan
Edict of Milan
The Edict of Milan was a letter signed by emperors Constantine I and Licinius that proclaimed religious toleration in the Roman Empire...
was issued in 313, Christian were permitted to worship openly. In the following decades, congregations built churches for public worship.
The Church of Mary
Church of Mary
The Church of Mary is an ancient Christian cathedral dedicated to the Theotokos , located in Ephesus, Turkey. It is also known as the Church of the Councils because two councils of importance to the history of Early Christianity are assumed to have been held within...
in Ephesus
Ephesus
Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...
may be one of the earliest Marian churches. It is dated to the early 5th century, coinciding with the Council of Ephesus in 431. It may have been built specifically for the council, during which the title of Theotokos
Theotokos
Theotokos is the Greek title of Mary, the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its literal English translations include God-bearer and the one who gives birth to God. Less literal translations include Mother of God...
, God-bearer, for the Mother of Christ was decided. The first Marian churches in Rome: Santa Maria in Trastevere
Santa Maria in Trastevere
The Basilica of Our Lady in Trastevere is a titular minor basilica, one of the oldest churches in Rome, and perhaps the first in which mass was openly celebrated...
, Santa Maria Antiqua
Santa Maria Antiqua
The Ancient church of St Mary is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum, and for long time the monumental access to the Palatine imperial palaces....
and Santa Maria Maggiore, date from the first part of the fifth century.
The church of Santa Maria Maggiore is a papal basilica, where the pope presides over the annual Feast of the Assumption of Mary, celebrated each August 15. The Marian churches are part of the Roman Catholic tradition for the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Some of the early Roman churches were quite small. An example is the church of Santa Maria Antiqua
Santa Maria Antiqua
The Ancient church of St Mary is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum, and for long time the monumental access to the Palatine imperial palaces....
(i.e. ancient St. Mary) built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum. Pope John VII
Pope John VII
Pope John VII was pope from 705 to 707. The successor of John VI, he was of Greek ancestry. He is one of the popes of the Byzantine captivity.-Biography:...
used Santa Maria Antiqua
Santa Maria Antiqua
The Ancient church of St Mary is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Rome, built in the 5th century in the Forum Romanum, and for long time the monumental access to the Palatine imperial palaces....
in the early 8th century as the see of the bishop of Rome. This church includes the earliest Roman depiction of Santa Maria Regina, portraying the Virgin Mary as a Queen in the 6th century.
Other churches, such as Santa Maria Maggiore, have seen significant additions to their architecture over the centuries. The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
The town of Aparecida, in the SE region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, houses two basilicas dedicated to Brazil's Patroness Saint, Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, or "Our Lady of the Conception who Appeared," a reference to the appearance of the head, then the body of a statue of Mary in...
in Aparecida
Aparecida
Aparecida is a Brazilian city and municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is located in the fertile valley of the River Paraíba do Sul on the southern bank. The population in 2004 was 35,754 and the area of the municipality is 121.232 km²...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
is now the second-largest Catholic place of worship in the world, second only to St. Peter's Basilica
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
in Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
. In 1984 it was officially declared as "the largest Marian Church in the world." According to the official site of the basilica, in 1999 the number of pilgrims was 6,565,849.
Some Marian churches are major pilgrimage sites. According to Bishop Francesco Giogia, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, minor basilica and National Shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico City. The shrine was built nearby the place where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin...
in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
was the most visited Catholic shrine in the world in 1999, followed by San Giovanni Rotondo
San Giovanni Rotondo
San Giovanni Rotondo is the name of a city and comune in the province of Foggia, Puglia region, southern Italy. As of 2006 it had a population of 26,442....
(not a Marian shrine) and Our Lady of Aparecida
Our Lady of Aparecida
Our Lady of Aparecida is the patron saint of Brazil, venerated in the Catholic Church. A dark-skinned Marian image, Our Lady of Aparecida is represented by a short, clay statue of the Virgin Mary, currently housed in the Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in the town of...
in Brazil. Given the millions of visitors per year to Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparition said to have appeared before various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France...
and Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
, the major Marian churches receive over 30 million pilgrims per year. In December 2009, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe set a new record with 6.1 million pilgrims during Friday and Saturday for the anniversary of Our Lady of Guadalipe..
Progression of architecture and belief
Through the centuries, the progression of Medieval architectureMedieval architecture
Medieval architecture is a term used to represent various forms of architecture common in Medieval Europe.-Characteristics:-Religious architecture:...
towards Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
, Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
, Renaissance
Renaissance architecture
Renaissance architecture is the architecture of the period between the early 15th and early 17th centuries in different regions of Europe, demonstrating a conscious revival and development of certain elements of ancient Greek and Roman thought and material culture. Stylistically, Renaissance...
, Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
and eventually modern Marian church architectures may be viewed as a manifestation of the growth of Marian belief - just as the development of Marian art and music were a reflection of the growing trends in the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic tradition.
A good example of the continuation of Marian traditions from the Gothic period to the present day is found at St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków
St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków
St. Mary's Basilica , is a Brick Gothic church re-built in the 14th century , adjacent to the Main Market Square in Kraków, Poland...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. On every hour, a trumpet signal called the hejnał (meaning "St. Mary's dawn" and pronounced hey-now) is still played from the top of the taller of St. Mary's two towers. The noon-time hejnał is heard across Poland and abroad broadcast live by the Polish national Radio 1 Station.
St. Mary's in Kraków also served as an architectural model for many of the churches that were built by the Polish diaspora
Polonia
The Polish diaspora refers to people of Polish origin who live outside Poland. The Polish diaspora is also known in modern Polish language as Polonia, which is the name for Poland in Latin and in many other Romance languages....
abroad, particularly St. Michael's
St. Michael's in Chicago
St. Michael - historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located at E. 83rd Street and S. South Shore Drive in Chicago, Illinois....
and St. John Cantius
St. John Cantius in Chicago
St. John Cantius Church is a historic church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago located in Chicago, Illinois.It is a prime example of the so-called 'Polish Cathedral style' of churches in both its opulence and grand scale. Along with such monumental religious edifices as St. Mary of the...
in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, designed in the so-called Polish Cathedral style
Polish Cathedral style
The Polish Cathedral architectural style is a North American genre of Catholic church architecture found throughout the Great Lakes and Middle Atlantic regions as well as in parts of New England...
.
Popes have at times viewed the existence of Marian churches as a key to the spread of Marian devotions, e.g. as he entrusted Europe to the Virgin Mary, Pope John Paul II stated:
Thanks to the countless Marian shrines dotting the nations of the continent, devotion to Mary is very strong and widespread among the peoples of Europe.
Apparition-based Marian churches
Marian apparitions have resulted in the construction of major Marian churches. Some of the very largest Roman Catholic Marian churches in the world did not start based on a decisions made by informed theologians in RomeRome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
but based on the statements of young and less-than-sophisticated people about their religious experiences on remote (and often unheard of) hilltops.
And there are remarkable similarities in the stories of the children whose reported visions led to the construction of the churches. Two cases in point are the largest Marian churches in Mexico and France, based on the reported Marian apparitions to a young Saint Juan Diego in Cerro del Tepeyac
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
, (Guadalupe) Mexico in 1531 and Saint Bernadette Soubirous
Bernadette Soubirous
Saint Marie-Bernarde Soubirous was a miller's daughter born in Lourdes. From 11 February to 16 July 1858, she reported 18 apparitions of "a small young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at that site at Lourdes....
as a child in Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparition said to have appeared before various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France...
in 1858. Both saints reported visions in which a miraculous lady on a hill asked them to request that the local priests build a chapel at that site of the vision. Both visions had a reference to roses and led to very large churches being built at the sites. Like Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes
Our Lady of Lourdes is the name used to refer to the Marian apparition said to have appeared before various individuals on separate occasions around Lourdes, France...
in France, Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
is a major Catholic symbol in Mexico. And like the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes or the Domain is an area of ground surrounding the shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, France...
in France, the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, minor basilica and National Shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico City. The shrine was built nearby the place where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin...
complex is one of the largest and most visited Catholic churches in the Americas.
Three Portuguese children, Lucia dos Santos, Jacinta Marto and Francisco Marto were equally young and without much education when they reported the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
in 1917. The local administrator initially jailed the children and threatened that he would boil them one by one in a pot of oil. Yet, eventually with millions of followers and Roman Catholic believers, the reported visions at Fatima gathered respect and Popes Pius XII, John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
, Paul VI and John Paul II voiced their acceptance of the supernatural origin of the Fatima events. The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima
Our Lady of Fatima
Our Lady of Fátima is a famous title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary as she appeared in apparitions reported by three shepherd children at Fátima in Portugal. These occurred on the 13th day of six consecutive months in 1917, starting on May 13...
is now a major Marian church in Europe.
The Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia
Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia
The “Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia” is a Catholic place of pilgrimage and is located on the top of Mount Figogna , in the Municipality of Ceranesi, about 20 km from the city of Genoa, in the northwest of Italy....
in Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
has a similar story. In 1490 a peasant Benedetto Pareto reported that the Virgin Mary had asked him to build a chapel on a mountain. Pareto reported that he replied that he was only a poor man and would not be able to do that, but he was told by the Virgin: “Do not be afraid!” After falling from a tree, Pareto changed his mind and built a small wooden room that was eventually enlarged to the present shrine.
And the trend has continued. The only approval for a Marian apparition in the 21st century was granted to the reported visions of Jesus and Mary
Visions of Jesus and Mary
Since the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ on Calvary until today, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary. Discussions about the authenticity of these visions have often invited...
by Benoite Rencurel in Saint-Étienne-le-Laus
Saint-Étienne-le-Laus
Saint-Étienne-le-Laus is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.Besides being a popular vacation spot, the region is probably best known for the lengthy series of Marian apparitions which are said to have occurred there between 1664 and 1718, reported by shepherd Benoite...
in France from 1664 to 1718. The approval was granted by the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
in May 2008. Again, in this case, a young Benoite Rencurel (who could not read or write) reported that a lady in white appeared to her on a remote mountain top in Saint-Étienne-le-Laus
Saint-Étienne-le-Laus
Saint-Étienne-le-Laus is a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in southeastern France.Besides being a popular vacation spot, the region is probably best known for the lengthy series of Marian apparitions which are said to have occurred there between 1664 and 1718, reported by shepherd Benoite...
and asked her for a church to be built there.
Churches, icons and devotions
Salus Populi Romani
Salus Populi Romani -Protectress translates literally as "salvation or health" -is a title given in the 19th century to the Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child, reputed to date to the Early Christian era, in the Borghese or Pauline Chapel of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome.It has...
, which has historically been the most important Roman Catholic Marian art
Roman Catholic Marian art
The Blessed Virgin Mary has been one of the major subjects of Christian Art, Catholic Art and Western Art for many centuries. Literally hundreds of thousands of pieces of...
icon in Rome. On April 1, 1899, Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
) celebrated his first Holy Mass there. Almost 50 years later, in 1953, Pius XII had Salus Populi Romani
Salus Populi Romani
Salus Populi Romani -Protectress translates literally as "salvation or health" -is a title given in the 19th century to the Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child, reputed to date to the Early Christian era, in the Borghese or Pauline Chapel of the Santa Maria Maggiore Basilica in Rome.It has...
carried from Santa Maria Maggiore through Rome to initiate the first Marian year in Church history. In 1954, the icon was crowned by Pius XII as he introduced a new Marian feast Queenship of Mary with the encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
Ad Caeli Reginam
Ad Caeli Reginam
Ad caeli reginam is an encyclical of Pope Pius XII, given at Rome, from St. Peter's, on the feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the eleventh day of October, 1954, in the sixteenth year of his Pontificate. The encyclical is an important element of the Mariology of Pope Pius XII...
.
Perhaps the ultimate example of this interplay is on Tepeyac hill, in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, the site of the reported apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
to Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin or Juan Diego was, according to Mexican Catholic tradition, an indigenous Mexican who reported a Marian apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 1531. The legend of the apparition has had a significant impact on the spread of the Catholic faith within Mexico...
. The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, minor basilica and National Shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico City. The shrine was built nearby the place where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin...
on Tepeyac hill houses the tilma (cloak) of Saint Juan Diego on which the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
is said to have been miraculously imprinted, where he had gathered roses. Saint Juan Diego's tilma is a key national and religious icon in Mexico. The series of Marian churches on Tepeyac hill that have housed the tilma since 1531 have received an ever increasing number of pilgrims and the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, minor basilica and National Shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico City. The shrine was built nearby the place where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin...
(one of the largest churches in the world) was constructed in 1974 to accommodate the over 5 million pilgrims that arrive there every year.
Architectural periods
The progress of Marian church architectures manifests both the progress of architecture and the spread of Marian devotions.If there is a single Marian location that captures several types of architecture, it is the area surrounding the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes or the Domain is an area of ground surrounding the shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, France...
. The Rosary Basilica
Rosary Basilica
The Basilica of our Lady of the Rosary is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Its main theme is a celebration and depiction of the Rosary.-History:...
was built with the Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture
Byzantine architecture is the architecture of the Byzantine Empire. The empire gradually emerged as a distinct artistic and cultural entity from what is today referred to as the Roman Empire after AD 330, when the Roman Emperor Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire east from Rome to...
in the 19th century. The "Basilica of the Immaculate Conception" known widely as the Upper Basilica, was consecrated in 1876 and is an elaborate building in the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style, while the Basilica of St. Pius X
Basilica of St. Pius X
The Basilica of St. Pius X, known as the Underground Basilica, is a large Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, located in the town of Lourdes, France. It is part of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes is a major Catholic pilgrimage site and the Catholic Church endorses the belief...
, is a very modern building that was completed in 1958 and is almost entirely underground.
Romanesque
The basilica of Santa Maria in CosmedinSanta Maria in Cosmedin
The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa.- History :The church was built in the 8th century during the Byzantine Papacy over the remains of the Templum Herculis Pompeiani in the Forum Boarium and of the Statio annonae, one...
in the Forum Boarium
Forum Boarium
The Forum Boarium was the cattle forum venalium of Ancient Rome and the oldest forum that Rome possessed. It was located on a level piece of land near the Tiber between the Capitoline, the Palatine and Aventine hills. Here, too, is where the first bridges were built...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
is an early example of a Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
Marian church. It is the site of the famous La Bocca della Verità
La Bocca della Verità
La Bocca della Verità is an image, carved from Pavonazzetto marble, of a man-like face, located in the portico of the church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin in Rome, Italy. The sculpture is thought to be part of a 1st century ancient Roman fountain, or perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one of several...
sculpture which draws many visitors every year.
Speyer Cathedral
Speyer Cathedral
The Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St...
(also known as the Mariendom) in Speyer
Speyer
Speyer is a city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany with approximately 50,000 inhabitants. Located beside the river Rhine, Speyer is 25 km south of Ludwigshafen and Mannheim. Founded by the Romans, it is one of Germany's oldest cities...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
is an imposing basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
of red sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
and one of the largest Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
churches in the world. The distinctive colonnaded
Colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade denotes a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building....
gallery
Balcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
that surrounds it and its imposing triple-aisled vaulted design influenced the development of Romanesque architecture in the 11th and 12th centuries.
Our Lady of Flanders Cathedral in Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
is one of the key architectural monuments in Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. It combines the work of three design periods: the heavy and severe character of the Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
nave contrasting with the Transitional work of the transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
and the fully developed Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style of the choir.
This early period, also included growth and development in other aspects of Mariology, with activities by key figures such as John Damascene and Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux
Bernard of Clairvaux, O.Cist was a French abbot and the primary builder of the reforming Cistercian order.After the death of his mother, Bernard sought admission into the Cistercian order. Three years later, he was sent to found a new abbey at an isolated clearing in a glen known as the Val...
. Chants such as Ave Maris Stella
Ave Maris Stella
Ave Maris Stella is a plainsong Vespers hymn to Mary. It is of uncertain origin and can be dated back at least as far as the eighth century. It was especially popular in the Middle Ages and has been used by many composers as the basis of other compositions...
and the Salve Regina
Salve Regina
The "Salve Regina", also known as the Hail Holy Queen, is a Marian hymn and one of four Marian antiphons sung at different seasons within the Christian liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic Church. The Salve Regina is traditionally sung at Compline in the time from the Saturday before Trinity...
emerged and became staples of monastic plainsong. Devotional practices grew in number. The Ave Maria
Ave Maria
Ave Maria may refer to:*Ave Maria , the "Hail Mary", a traditional Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox prayer calling for the intercession of Mary, the mother of Jesus-Music:...
prayer gained popularity..
Gothic
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
Cathedral is a prime example of French Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
. It was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress
Flying buttress
A flying buttress is a specific form of buttressing most strongly associated with Gothic church architecture. The purpose of any buttress is to resist the lateral forces pushing a wall outwards by redirecting them to the ground...
. Its sculptures and stained glass show the heavy influence of naturalism, giving them a more secular look that was lacking from earlier Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres near Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
is also a good example of a French Gothic cathedral. Its two contrasting spires and the complex flying buttresses that surround it capture key architectural elements of the time. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims in Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
(where the kings of France were once crowned) exemplifies the heavier Gothic architecture present in the northern Franco-Germanic areas.
Further south, the façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
of Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
Italy is an excellent example of Tuscan
Tuscan order
Among canon of classical orders of classical architecture, the Tuscan order's place is due to the influence of the Italian Sebastiano Serlio, who meticulously described the five orders including a "Tuscan order", "the solidest and least ornate", in his fourth book of Regole generalii di...
Gothic architecture by Giovanni Pisano
Giovanni Pisano
Giovanni Pisano was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect. Son of the famous sculptor Nicola Pisano, he received his training in the workshop of his father....
.
The interior of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg
Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg
Notre-Dame Cathedral is the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Luxembourg City, in southern Luxembourg. It was originally a Jesuit church, and its cornerstone was laid in 1613....
shows the Gothic style of design at its height. The basilica is a good example of late gothic architecture with many Renaissance elements and adornments.
One major Mariological issue in this period was the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
. Gradually the idea that Mary had been cleansed of original sin
Original sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...
at the very moment of her conception began to predominate, particularly after Duns Scotus
Duns Scotus
Blessed John Duns Scotus, O.F.M. was one of the more important theologians and philosophers of the High Middle Ages. He was nicknamed Doctor Subtilis for his penetrating and subtle manner of thought....
dealt with the major objection to Mary's sinlessness from conception, that being her need for redemption. Popes issued degrees and authorized feasts and processions in honor of Mary. Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...
(1265-1268) created a poem on the seven joys of Mary, which in its form is considered an early version of the Franciscan rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
.
Renaissance
Perhaps the key example of early RenaissanceRenaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
Quattrocento
Quattrocento
The cultural and artistic events of 15th century Italy are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento...
Marian architecture is the Dome of Basilica of Santa Maria del Fiore
Santa Maria del Fiore
The Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore is the cathedral church of Florence, Italy. The Duomo, as it is ordinarily called, was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to the design of Arnolfo di Cambio and completed structurally in 1436 with the dome engineered by Filippo Brunelleschi...
in Florence, Italy. The cathedral was consecrated by Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV , born Gabriele Condulmer, was pope from March 3, 1431, to his death.-Biography:He was born in Venice to a rich merchant family, a Correr on his mother's side. Condulmer entered the Order of Saint Augustine at the monastery of St. George in his native city...
in 1436 and was the first 'octagonal' dome in history to be built without a wooden supporting frame and was the largest dome built at the time (it is still the largest masonry dome in the world).
The facade of the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence is another example of the beginnings of the early Renaissance.
The Basilica of Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan)
Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan)
Santa Maria delle Grazie is a church and Dominican convent in Milan, northern Italy, included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list...
, famous for the mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
of the Last Supper
The Last Supper (Leonardo)
The Last Supper is a 15th century mural painting in Milan created by Leonardo da Vinci for his patron Duke Ludovico Sforza and his duchess Beatrice d'Este...
by Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
is an example of the progression of architecture beyond the Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
period and towards the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
This period also saw unprecedented growth in venerative Marian art with the likes of Donatello
Donatello
Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi , also known as Donatello, was an early Renaissance Italian artist and sculptor from Florence...
, Sandro Botticelli
Sandro Botticelli
Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance...
, Masaccio
Masaccio
Masaccio , born Tommaso di Ser Giovanni di Simone, was the first great painter of the Quattrocento period of the Italian Renaissance. According to Vasari, Masaccio was the best painter of his generation because of his skill at recreating lifelike figures and movements as well as a convincing sense...
, Filippo Lippi
Filippo Lippi
Fra' Filippo Lippi , also called Lippo Lippi, was an Italian painter of the Italian Quattrocento .-Biography and works:...
, Piero di Cosimo
Piero di Cosimo
Piero di Cosimo , also known as Piero di Lorenzo, was an Italian Renaissance painter.-Biography:The son of a goldsmith, Piero was born in Florence and apprenticed under the artist Cosimo Rosseli, from whom he derived his popular name and whom he assisted in the painting of the Sistine Chapel in...
and Paolo Uccello
Paolo Uccello
Paolo Uccello , born Paolo di Dono, was an Italian painter and a mathematician who was notable for his pioneering work on visual perspective in art. Giorgio Vasari in his book Lives of the Artists wrote that Uccello was obsessed by his interest in perspective and would stay up all night in his...
among many others.
Baroque
Santa Maria della Pace
Santa Maria della Pace is a church in Rome, central Italy, not far from Piazza Navona.The current building was built on the foundations of the pre-existing church of Sant'Andrea de Aquarizariis in 1482, commissioned by Pope Sixtus IV. The church was rededicated to the Virgin Mary to remember a...
's Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
façade, designed by Pietro da Cortona
Pietro da Cortona
Pietro da Cortona, by the name of Pietro Berrettini, born Pietro Berrettini da Cortona, was the leading Italian Baroque painter of his time and also one of the key architects in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture. He was also an important decorator...
is a good example of a Marian church in Rome that progressed beyond the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
.
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
The Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. The Basilica venerates Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title Our Lady of the Pillar praised as Mother of the Hispanic Peoples by Pope John Paul II...
in Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
is a Baroque church built upon previous churches at the same site, dating back to the Romanesque period. Being a large rectangle with a nave and two aisles, with two other all-brick chapels, it has a typically Aragonese
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
style and is illuminated by large oculi
Oculus
An Oculus, circular window, or rain-hole is a feature of Classical architecture since the 16th century. They are often denoted by their French name, oeil de boeuf, or "bull's-eye". Such circular or oval windows express the presence of a mezzanine on a building's façade without competing for...
, characteristic of the buildings of the region from the 17th century onwards.
Some Marian churches are built as a response to specific events, e.g. Santa Maria della Salute in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
was built to give thanks to thank the Virgin Mary for the city's deliverance from the plague. The church is full of Marian symbolism – the great dome represents her crown, and the eight sides the eight points on her symbolic star.
Baroque literature on Mary experienced unforeseen growth with over 500 pages of Mariological writings during the 17th century alone with contributors such as Francisco Suárez
Francisco Suárez
Francisco Suárez was a Spanish Jesuit priest, philosopher and theologian, one of the leading figures of the School of Salamanca movement, and generally regarded among the greatest scholastics after Thomas Aquinas....
, Lawrence of Brindisi
Lawrence of Brindisi
Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, O.F.M. Cap., , born Giulio Cesare Russo, was a Catholic priest and a member of the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin....
, Robert Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine
Robert Bellarmine was an Italian Jesuit and a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was one of the most important figures in the Counter-Reformation...
and Francis of Sales After 1650, the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
was the subject of over 300 publications. In this period Saint Louis de Montfort
Louis de Montfort
St. Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort was canonized in 1947. He was a French priest and known in his time as a preacher and author, whose books, still widely read, have influenced a number of popes....
wrote his highly influential Marian books that influenced several popes centuries later.
Baroque Mariology was supported by Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V
-Theology:Paul met with Galileo Galilei in 1616 after Cardinal Bellarmine had, on his orders, warned Galileo not to hold or defend the heliocentric ideas of Copernicus. Whether there was also an order not to teach those ideas in any way has been a matter for controversy...
and Gregory XV. Alexander VII declared in 1661, that the soul of Mary was free from original sin
Original sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...
. Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
ordered the feast of the Immaculata for the whole Church in 1708. The feast of the Rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
was introduced in 1716, the feast of the Seven Sorrows in 1727. The Angelus
Angelus
The Angelus is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The name Angelus is derived from the opening words: Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariæ The Angelus (Latin for "angel") is a Christian devotion in memory of the Incarnation. The name Angelus is derived from the opening words: Angelus...
prayer was strongly supported by Pope Benedict XIII
Pope Benedict XIII
-Footnotes:...
in 1724 and by Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV
Pope Benedict XIV , born Prospero Lorenzo Lambertini, was Pope from 17 August 1740 to 3 May 1758.-Life:...
in 1742.
Modern
Two major Marian basilicas were constructed in South America during the 20th century, together receiving over 10 million pilgrims per year. The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
The town of Aparecida, in the SE region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, houses two basilicas dedicated to Brazil's Patroness Saint, Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, or "Our Lady of the Conception who Appeared," a reference to the appearance of the head, then the body of a statue of Mary in...
in Brazil is surpassed in size only by Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. The new Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, minor basilica and National Shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico City. The shrine was built nearby the place where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin...
on Tepeyac
Tepeyac
Tepeyac or the Hill of Tepeyac, historically known by the names "Tepeyacac" and "Tepeaquilla", is located inside Gustavo A. Madero, the northernmost delegación or borough of the Mexican Federal District. It is the site where Saint Juan Diego met the Virgin of Guadalupe in December of 1531, and...
hill, north of Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, was built at the site of the apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...
to Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin or Juan Diego was, according to Mexican Catholic tradition, an indigenous Mexican who reported a Marian apparition, Our Lady of Guadalupe, in 1531. The legend of the apparition has had a significant impact on the spread of the Catholic faith within Mexico...
. It is the most important pilgrimage site in Mexico and perpetual adoration takes place there by many people. By using its atrium, 40,000 people can attend mass at the basilica.
Other Marian churches started to appear around the globe. The Basilica of Our Lady of She Shan was built near Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
China as the largest Christian church building in East Asia. The new Immaculate Conception Cathedral was built in Manila
Manila
Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, Philippines.
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
distribution groups. An example is Our Lady's Rosary Makers
Our Lady's Rosary Makers
Our Lady's Rosary Makers is a non-profit apostolate in Louisville, Kentucky, dedicated to spreading devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary. Its 17,000 members, in the U.S. and other countries, make and distribute roughly 7 million cord and chain rosaries annually for missions around the...
which was formed with a $25 donation for a typewriter in 1949 and now has thousands of volunteers who have distributed hundreds of millions of free rosaries to Catholic missions worldwide.
During this period key Marian papal encyclicals and Apostolic Letters
Marian papal encyclicals and Apostolic Letters
Marian papal encyclicals and Apostolic Letters have been a major force that has shaped Roman Catholic Mariology over the centuries. Although Mariology has also grown from the bottom up via sensus fidelium, papal views have transformed Marian dogmas, doctrines and devotions within the Roman Catholic...
were issued and Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
and Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
both took major steps in establishing new Marian dogmas.
The encyclical
Encyclical
An encyclical was originally a circular letter sent to all the churches of a particular area in the ancient Catholic Church. At that time, the word could be used for a letter sent out by any bishop...
Ad Diem Illum
Ad Diem Illum
Ad diem Illum Laetissimum is an encyclical of Saint Pope Pius X on the Immaculate Conception, Given at Rome in St. Peter's on the second day of February, 1904, in the first year of his Pontificate. It is issued in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the dogma of the Immaculate conception...
of Pope Pius X
Pope Pius X
Pope Saint Pius X , born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 257th Pope of the Catholic Church, serving from 1903 to 1914. He was the first pope since Pope Pius V to be canonized. Pius X rejected modernist interpretations of Catholic doctrine, promoting traditional devotional practices and orthodox...
established the dogma of Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
, and Pope Pius XII
Pope Pius XII
The Venerable Pope Pius XII , born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli , reigned as Pope, head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City State, from 2 March 1939 until his death in 1958....
issued the Apostolic constitution
Apostolic constitution
An apostolic constitution is the highest level of decree issued by the Pope. The use of the term constitution comes from Latin constitutio, which referred to any important law issued by the Roman emperor, and is retained in church documents because of the inheritance that the canon law of the...
Munificentissimus Deus
Munificentissimus Deus
Munificentissimus Deus is the name of an Apostolic constitution written by Pope Pius XII. It defines ex cathedra the dogma of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It was the first ex-cathedra infallible statement since the official ruling on papal infallibility was made at the First Vatican...
to define ex cathedra
Ex Cathedra
Ex Cathedra is a British choir and early music ensemble based in Birmingham in the West Midlands, England. It performs choral music spanning the 15th to 21st centuries, and regularly commissions new works....
the dogma
Dogma
Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...
of the Assumption
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. More recently, Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
's encyclical Redemptoris Mater
Redemptoris Mater
Redemptoris Mater is the name for certain Roman Catholic seminaries which operate under the auspices of the Neocatechumenal Way and claim as their mission the formation of priests for the "New Evangelization". These seminaries are distributed worldwide, with nearly 1,500 seminarians currently in...
took the step of addressing the role of the Virgin Mary as Mediatrix
Mediatrix
Mediatrix in Roman Catholic Mariology refers to the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a mediator in the salvation process. It is a separate concept from Co-Redemptrix....
.
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen
The Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń is a Roman Catholic church located in the village of Licheń Stary near Konin in the Greater Poland Voivodeship in Poland. It was designed by Barbara Bielecka and built between 1994 and 2004...
in Stary Licheń was constructed between 1994 and 2004. It is Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
's largest church, the seventh largest in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and eleventh in the World. It houses a 200-year-old painting known as the Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland
Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland
.Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland, Our Lady of Licheń, or Virgin of Licheń is a Roman Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary, most likely painted in 1772...
.
See also
- Shrines to the Virgin MaryShrines to the Virgin MaryIn the culture and practice of some Christian Churches - mainly, but not solely, the Roman Catholic Church - a Shrine to the Virgin Mary is a shrine marking an apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Marian devotion...
- Marian art in the Catholic Church
- Roman Catholic Mariology
Gallery of Roman Catholic Marian churches
Dates indicate the (often likely) first year of construction.Image:Piazza Esquilino, Santa Maria Maggiore.JPG|Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, 5th century
Image:Speyer Dom meph666-2005-Feb-26.jpg|Speyer Cathedral
Speyer Cathedral
The Speyer Cathedral, officially the Imperial Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption and St Stephen, in Latin: Domus sanctae Mariae Spirae in Speyer, Germany, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Speyer and is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Bamberg. The cathedral, which is dedicated to St...
(Mariendom), 1030, UNESCO Heritage
Image:Bayeauxcathedralinterior.jpg|Notre-Dame de Bayeux, France, 1077
Image:Chartres 1.jpg|Notre-Dame de Chartres, France, 1145
File:Notre Dame dalla Senna.jpg|Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris , also known as Notre Dame Cathedral, is a Gothic, Roman Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic Archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the cathedra of...
, Cathedral, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 1163
File:Façade Cathédrale de Laon 14 09 08 2.jpg|Notre Dame de Laon, France, 1160
Image:Tournai JPG000c.jpg|Our Lady of Flanders Cathedral, Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, Belgium
Image:Kraków - St. Mary Church 01.JPG|St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków
St. Mary's Basilica, Kraków
St. Mary's Basilica , is a Brick Gothic church re-built in the 14th century , adjacent to the Main Market Square in Kraków, Poland...
Image:Reims Kathedrale.jpg|Façade of Notre-Dame de Reims, Reims
Reims
Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....
, France
Image:Kathedrale Siena Fassade.jpg|Siena Cathedral (Santa Maria Assunta), 1215
Image:Florenca109 v2.jpg|Florence Cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore), UNESCO Heritage
Image:Santa Maria Novella.jpg|Santa Maria Novella, Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, 1246
File:Frauenkirche_Munich_-_View_from_Peterskirche_Tower2.jpg|Munich Frauenkirche
Munich Frauenkirche
The Frauenkirche is a church in the Bavarian city of Munich that serves as the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising and seat of its Archbishop. It is a landmark and is considered a symbol of the Bavarian capital city.The church towers are widely visible because of local height...
, (Cathedral of Our Blessed Lady), 1468-1488
File:Madonna del Sasso.JPG|Madonna del Sasso sanctuary
Madonna del Sasso, Switzerland
The Madonna del Sasso is a sanctuary in Orselina above the city of Locarno in Switzerland. It is the principal sight and goal of pilgrimage in the city....
, Locarno
Locarno
Locarno is the capital of the Locarno district, located on the northern tip of Lake Maggiore in the Swiss canton of Ticino, close to Ascona at the foot of the Alps. It has a population of about 15,000...
, 1487
Image:Santa Maria delle Grazie Milano.jpg|Santa Maria delle Grazie
Santa Maria delle Grazie (Milan)
Santa Maria delle Grazie is a church and Dominican convent in Milan, northern Italy, included in the UNESCO World Heritage sites list...
, Milan, 1490, UNESCO Heritage
Image:Bazylika Santa Maria degli Angeli Asyż.jpg|Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli
Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli
The Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli is a church situated in the plain at the foot of the hill of Assisi, Italy, in the frazione of Santa Maria degli Angeli....
, Assisi, Italy, 1569
Image:Luxembourg_Cathedral_HDR.jpg|Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Luxembourg, 1613
Image:Salute Dome.jpg|Santa Maria della Salute, Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, 1629
File:Mariazell Basilika 3.jpg|Mariazell Basilica
Mariazell Basilica
The Mariazell Basilica is a Marian basilica in Mariazell, Austria. It is the most important pilgrimage destination in Austria and one of the most visited shrines in Europe...
, Austria, 1644
Image:Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Québec - interior.JPG|Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral
Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral
The Cathedral-minor basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec , located at 20, rue de Buade, Quebec City, Quebec, is the primate church of Canada and seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec, the oldest see in the New World north of Mexico.It is also the parish church of the oldest parish in North...
, 1647
File:101PzaPopolo.jpg|Santa Maria dei Miracoli
Santa Maria dei Miracoli
Italian churches:* Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto in Rome* Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice* Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan...
and its "twin church" in Rome, 1662
Image:Basilica_del_Pilar_ZaragozaAragon%28Spain%29.jpg|Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar
The Basilica-Cathedral of Our Lady of the Pillar is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. The Basilica venerates Blessed Virgin Mary, under her title Our Lady of the Pillar praised as Mother of the Hispanic Peoples by Pope John Paul II...
, Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, Spain, 1681
File:Mariahilfer Kirche Vienna Sept 2006 001.jpg|Mariahilfer kirche, Vienna
Mariahilfer kirche, Vienna
The Baroque Church of Mariahilf is a parish church and the church of the Congregation of Saint Michael the Archangel in Vienna...
, 1686
File:Puducherry Immaculate Conception Cathedral retouched.jpg|Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Puducherry
Immaculate Conception Cathedral, Puducherry
Immaculate Conception Cathedral is the cathedral mother church for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Pondicherry and Cuddalore. It is located in the Union territory of Pondicherry...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 1770
Image:Gapp_2005_200.jpg|Ettal Abbey
Ettal Abbey
Ettal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in the village of Ettal close to Oberammergau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria, Germany. With a community of more than 50 monks, with another five at Wechselburg, the Abbey is one of the largest Benedictine houses and is a major attraction for...
Church of the Assumption
Assumption of Mary
According to the belief of Christians of the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, and parts of the Anglican Communion and Continuing Anglicanism, the Assumption of Mary was the bodily taking up of the Virgin Mary into Heaven at the end of her life...
(1330), 1776.
Image:Ponce002.jpg|Our Lady of Guadalupe Cathedral
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States and consists of the southern part of the island of Puerto Rico, an American commonwealth. The diocese is led by a prelate bishop which pastors the motherchurch in the...
, Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, 1835
File:St Mary's cathedral, Perth2.jpg|St Mary's Cathedral, Perth
St Mary's Cathedral, Perth
St Mary's Cathedral is the cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Perth, and seat of its Archbishop, currently Barry James Hickey...
, Australia, 1863
Image:Sanctuary NDL 2.jpg|Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes or the Domain is an area of ground surrounding the shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, France...
, 1864
Image:Sw_Lipka_fasada.jpg|St. Mary's Sancturary, Święta Lipka, Reszel
Reszel
Reszel is a town in Poland in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship. The population is about 5,700.Reszel was originally a settlement built by the Bartian tribe of Old Prussians and conquered by the Teutonic Knights in 1241. The native Prussians later recaptured the settlement and held it for five...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
Image:Notre_dame_saigon.jpg| Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica
Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica , officially Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in the downtown of Saigon City, Vietnam. Established by French colonists, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880...
, 1863.
File:Santuario di Maria Ausiliatrice Torino.jpg|Basilica of Our Lady Help of Christians, Turin, 1865
File:Our Lady of Sorrows 080202 feedback.jpg|Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica
Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica
Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica is a Roman Catholic basilica on the west side of Chicago, Illinois. Located at 3121 West Jackson Boulevard, it is, along with St...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, 1874
File:ChurchofOurLadyofSnowKallikulam.jpg|Our Lady of Snow Kallikulam
Our Lady of Snow Kallikulam
The Church of Our Lady of Snow is a Roman Catholic Marian church in Kallikulam, Tirunelveli district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the Catholic pilgrimage centers in India dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In recent times it became popular because of vision and apparition of Mother Mary....
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 1884
Image:Church of Dauis.jpg|Shrine of the Assumption Dauis, Bohol
Dauis, Bohol
Dauis is a 4th class municipality in the province of Bohol, Philippines. According to the 2007 census, it has a population of 36,139 people. It is one of the 47 towns of Bohol, located in the Island of Panglao.-The Barangays:...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, 1863
Image:2006.09.03.RosarioCathedral.jpg|Our Lady of the Rosary
Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary
The Cathedral Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary is a minor basilica and cathedral dedicated to the local Virgin of the Rosary, in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is the motherchurch of the Archdiocese of Rosario....
Basilica, Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, 1887
Image:Nostra signora della guardia2.jpg|Nostra Signora della Guardia
Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia
The “Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia” is a Catholic place of pilgrimage and is located on the top of Mount Figogna , in the Municipality of Ceranesi, about 20 km from the city of Genoa, in the northwest of Italy....
, Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
, 1889
Image:Cathédrale_Marie-Reine-du-Monde_intérieur.jpg|Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
The Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after St. Joseph's Oratory and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City...
, Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, 1894
Image:Jakarta Cathedral.jpg|Gereja Santa Maria Pelindung Diangkat Ke Surga
Jakarta Cathedral
Jakarta Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Cathedral in Jakarta, Indonesia, which is also the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Jakarta, currently Archbishop Ignatius Suharyo Hardjoatmodjo...
, Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, 1901
Image:Sanctuary_NDL_3.jpg|Rosary Basilica
Rosary Basilica
The Basilica of our Lady of the Rosary is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Its main theme is a celebration and depiction of the Rosary.-History:...
, Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in south-western France.Lourdes is a small market town lying in the foothills of the Pyrenees, famous for the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes occurred in 1858 to Bernadette Soubirous...
, 1902
File:IN01.jpg|Our Lady of Navigators, Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, 1912
Image:Fatima.jpg|Our Lady of Fatima Basilica, Fátima, Portugal
Fátima, Portugal
Fátima is a city in Portugal famous for the Marian apparitions, recognized by the Catholic Church, that took place there in 1917. The town itself has a population of 7,756 and is located in the municipality of Ourém, in the Centro Region and Médio Tejo Subregion...
Image:Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.JPG|Immaculate Conception Basilica
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a prominent Latin Rite Catholic basilica located in Washington, D.C., honoring the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Patroness of the United States...
, Washington, DC, 1920
Image:Siluva_kirche.jpg|Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Šiluva
Šiluva
Šiluva is a small town of less than 1,000 inhabitants in Lithuania. It is located in the region of Samogitia.Šiluva was first mentioned in 1457 in relation to the building of the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Bartholomew by the Lithuanian...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
, 1925
Image:Vailankanni Basilica.JPG|Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is located at the small town of Velankanni in the state of Tamil Nadu in southern India. The Roman Catholic Basilica is devoted to Our Lady of Good Health...
, Vailankanni
Vailankanni
Velankanni , officially spelled as Vailankanni , also spelled as "Velanganni" , is a Parish under Tanjore Roman Catholic Diocese and a panchayat town in Nagapattinam district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
Image:Górka katedralna.jpg|Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary, Chelm
Chelm
Chełm is a city in eastern Poland with 67,702 inhabitants . It is located to the south-east of Lublin, north of Zamość and south of Biała Podlaska, some 25 kilometres from the border with Ukraine...
, Poland
Image:Knockbasilica.JPG|Basilica of Our Lady of Knock, Ireland
File:Perambur Our Lady of Lourdes church enterance.jpg|Our Lady of Lourdes church, Perambur
Perambur
Perambur , is a locality in Northern part of the metropolitan city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu state, India.It is one of expensive area in chennai with all facilities of needs....
, Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, 1900
Image:Frauenfriedenskirche, Frankfurt.jpg|Frauenfriedenskirche
Frauenfriedenskirche
The Frauenfriedenskirche is a Roman Catholic church in Bockenheim, Frankfurt am Main . It was built by Hans Herkommer from 1927 to 1929, on a rise then known as Ginnheimer Höhe...
, Frankfurt, 1927
Image:Kochi Bascilica.jpg|St. Mary's Basilica, Ernakulam, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
File:Stairs She Shan Basilica 20050410.jpg|Our Lady of She Shan Basilica, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, China, 1935
Image:Church in Međugorje, B-H, June 4th 2007 (4).jpg|Our Lady of Međugorje, Međugorje
Image:Santuario nacional.jpg| Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida
Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida
The town of Aparecida, in the SE region of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, houses two basilicas dedicated to Brazil's Patroness Saint, Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, or "Our Lady of the Conception who Appeared," a reference to the appearance of the head, then the body of a statue of Mary in...
, Aparecida
Aparecida
Aparecida is a Brazilian city and municipality in the state of São Paulo. It is located in the fertile valley of the River Paraíba do Sul on the southern bank. The population in 2004 was 35,754 and the area of the municipality is 121.232 km²...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, 1955
Image:Candelaria BW 4.JPG|Basilica of Our Lady of Candelaria
Basilica of Candelaria
The Basilica of the Royal Marian Shrine of the Our Lady of Candelaria is a Roman catholic minor basilica, the first Marian shrine of the Canary Islands, located in the municipality and city of Candelaria on the island of Tenerife . It is located c...
, Tenerife
Tenerife
Tenerife is the largest and most populous island of the seven Canary Islands, it is also the most populated island of Spain, with a land area of 2,034.38 km² and 906,854 inhabitants, 43% of the total population of the Canary Islands. About five million tourists visit Tenerife each year, the...
(Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
), 1959
Image:Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (new).JPG|Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Roman Catholic church, minor basilica and National Shrine of Mexico in the north of Mexico City. The shrine was built nearby the place where Our Lady of Guadalupe appeared to Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, 1974
Image:Lacathedral.jpg|Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral
Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels
The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, also called "COLA" and the Los Angeles Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church in Los Angeles, California, United States...
, Los Angeles, 1989
Image:3 Stary Lichen 44.jpg|Sanctuary of Our Lady of Licheń
Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lichen
The Basilica of Our Lady of Licheń is a Roman Catholic church located in the village of Licheń Stary near Konin in the Greater Poland Voivodeship in Poland. It was designed by Barbara Bielecka and built between 1994 and 2004...
, Stary Licheń, Poland, 2004