Basilica of Our Lady of Geneva | |
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Basilique Notre-Dame de Genève Basilika Unserer Lieben Frau von Genf | |
46°12′31″N6°8′31″E / 46.20861°N 6.14194°E | |
Country | Switzerland |
Denomination | Roman Catholic |
Website | Basilica of Our Lady of Geneva |
History | |
Status | Minor Basilica |
Founded | 1852-1857 |
Architecture | |
Functional status | Active |
Heritage designation | Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance |
Style | Gothic |
Administration | |
Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of Geneva |
The Basilica of Notre Dame of Geneva is a Roman Catholic church and Minor Basilica located in Geneva, Switzerland. [1] [2] It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Pope Pius IX gifted the white Carrara marble statue of the Immaculate Conception as Our Lady of Geneva in 1859. Pope Pius XI granted the image a decree of Pontifical coronation on 26 April 1936. Pope Pius XII later issued a pontifical decree Nominis Catholici which raised the shrine to the status of minor basilica on 4 August 1954.
The shrine is a common stopover for pilgrims going to Santiago de Compostela. [3] The basilica marks the beginning of the "via Gebennensis", which extends from Le Puy-en-Velay in via Podiensis. Its motto is La Nuntia Pacis (English: Messenger of Peace).
The church was built according to the design of Alexandre Grigny of Arras between 1852 and 1857 [3] on the site of a former stronghold fortifications. This neo-Gothic building, whose appearance is partly inspired by Notre-Dame de Bonsecours and Saint-Nicolas of Nantes, [4] broke ground thanks to the city of Geneva, which had ceded land to religious communities to build places of worship, and through donations and manual labor provided by the Geneva Catholics. The cornerstone was laid September 8, 1852. Pope Pius IX donated 1,000 crowns towards the construction [5]
The dedication was celebrated 4 October 1857. Father Gaspard Mermillod, future episcopal vicar of Geneva pronounced the sermon. He was later expelled from Switzerland by the government. [6]
After the coming to power of an anti-clerical government, Notre Dame was occupied on 5 June 1875, and closed. This occupation was accompanied by a protest against the Roman Catholic Church and more unrest. The commitment of Catholics to this sanctuary became even greater. The building was bought by the Catholic Church in 1911. [3]
The 7:00 p.m. Mass on Sundays is in English.
The oldest art works of the basilica date back to the time immediately preceding the Protestant Reformation:
Other works or art objects are the object or through the worship the statue of Our Lady of Geneva, the tabernacle and the carved liturgical furniture (altar, ambo, clams).
The stained glass windows of the basilica are particularly remarkable. Some are semi-industrial production neo-Gothic, but most show the evolution of the art of stained glass during the twentieth century, in various styles, after those of Claudius Lavergne (installed from 1857 to 1875). From 1912, several artists have successively contributed to adorn the basilica: Charles Brunner, Alexandre Cingria, Maurice Denis, Gherri Moro, Paul Monnier, Jean-Claude Morend, Théodore Strawinsky. The building is classified as Cultural Property of National Significance.
The first stained glass windows, by Claudius Lavergne, were installed from 1857 to 1875, [5] in the so-called Sulpician style. These are the 13 stained glass windows in the apse chapels and the ambulatory and the 3 rose windows.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace is a Catholic minor basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the administrative capital of la Côte d'Ivoire. Guinness World Records lists it as the largest church in the world, having surpassed the previous record holder, Saint Peter's Basilica, upon completion. It has an area of 30,000 square metres (320,000 sq ft) and is 158 metres (518 ft) tall. However, it also includes a rectory and a villa, which are not strictly part of the church. It can accommodate 18,000 worshippers, compared to 60,000 for St. Peter's. Ordinary liturgies conducted at the basilica are usually attended by only a few hundred people. The basilica is administered by Polish Pallottines at a cost of US$1.5 million annually.
The Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec, located at 16, rue de Buade, Quebec City, Quebec, is the primatial church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec. It is the oldest church in Canada and was the first church in Canada to be elevated to the rank of minor basilica, by Pope Pius IX in 1874. Four governors of New France and the bishops of Quebec are buried in the crypt, including François de Laval, Quebec's first bishop.
Our Lady of Lourdes is a title of the Virgin Mary. She is venerated under this title by the Roman Catholic Church due to her apparitions that occurred in Lourdes, France. The first apparition of 11 February 1858, of which Bernadette Soubirous told her mother that a "Lady" spoke to her in the cave of Massabielle while she was gathering firewood with her sister and a friend. Similar apparitions of the "Lady" were reported on 18 occasions that year, until the climax revelation in which she introduced herself as: "the Immaculate Conception". On 18 January 1862, the local Bishop of Tarbes Bertrand-Sévère Laurence endorsed the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lourdes.
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The Chapel of Graces of the Miraculous Virgin or informally the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, is a Marian shrine located in Paris, France.
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Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon, officially Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of The Immaculate Conception is a cathedral located in the downtown of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Established by French colonists who initially named it the Church of Saigon, the cathedral was constructed between 1863 and 1880. The name Notre-Dame Cathedral has been used since 1959. It has two bell towers, reaching a height of 58 meters (190 feet).
Basilique Notre Dame d'Afrique is a Catholic basilica in Algiers, Algeria. It is the origin of the modern Catholic devotion to Our Lady of Africa.
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Gaspard Mermillod was a Swiss Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. Despite a lengthy investiture conflict with the Calvinist Canton of Geneva, he served as Bishop of Lausanne and Geneva from 1883 to 1891, having previously served as Titular Bishop of Hebron. He was made a cardinal in 1890.
Mary, Help of Christians is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary, based on a devotion now associated with a feast day of the General Roman Calendar on 24 May.
Our Lady of Charity is a celebrated Marian title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated in many Catholic countries.
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The Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, known widely as the "Upper Church", is a Catholic church and minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France.
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The Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Trinité is a Roman Catholic basilica church located in Blois, in the Loir-et-Cher department of France. It is dedicated to the Our Lady of the Trinity.
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The Basilique Notre Dame du Bon Secours, Marie Auxiliatrice is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Bonsecours near Rouen, Seine—Maritime, France. It is the first church in France to be built in the Gothic Revival style. The basilica is highly ornately decorated with windows, sculptures and other elements often carrying the name or coat of arms of a patronal donor.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Brebières, Basilique Notre-Dame de Brebières (French) is a Roman Catholic minor Basilica designed by Edmond Duthoit in 1897. The structure was completely destroyed during shelling in World War I and rebuilt by the original architect's son Louis Duthoit from 1927 to 1931.
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