Madre del Buon Consiglio

Last updated
The Basilica of the Crowned
Mother of Good Counsel
La Basilica della Incoronata
Madre del Buon Consiglio
Facciata Incoro.JPG
Facade of the Basilica
Religion
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Rite Latin Rite
Ecclesiastical or organizational status Basilica
Leadership Pope Leo XIV
Year consecrated 1960
StatusActive
Location
LocationNaples
Madre del Buon Consiglio
Geographic coordinates 40°51′52″N14°14′49″E / 40.86444°N 14.24694°E / 40.86444; 14.24694
Architecture
Architect(s) Vincenzo Vecchio
TypeBasilica
Style Renaissance and Baroque
Groundbreaking1920
Completed1960
Interior of the Basilica. Incoronata int.jpg
Interior of the Basilica.

The Basilica of the Crowned Mother of Good Counsel (Italian: Basilica della incoronata Madre del Buon Consiglio) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located in Naples, southern Italy. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel and is located on the hillside leading up to the Capodimonte palace. The shrine is built on top of the ancient Catacombs of San Gennaro and was rebuilt from 1920 to 1960.

Pope Pius X granted a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation to the enshrined Marian image on 29 March 1911. The rite of coronation was executed by the former Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Giuseppe Antonio Ermenegildo Prisco on 6 January 1912.

Pope John Paul II raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica through the Pontifical decree Beatæ Mariæ Virginis on 2 January 1980. He later made an Apostolic Visit to this shrine in 21 October 1979 and 9 November 1990. Pious devotees often refer to the ornate building as the “twin sister” highly similar to the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome.

History

The church has its roots in two miracles observed by local girl Maria di Gesù Landi (21 January 1861 26 March 1931). Known for her devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel (Madonna del Buon Consiglio), she created a painting of the Virgin Mary in 1884.

The Roman architect, Vincenzo Vecchio designed the church in model of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The church was constructed between 1920 and 1940, on top of the ancient Catacombs of San Gennaro. It has become the destination of pilgrimages in the name of Maria di Gesù Landi.

The 1980 Irpinia earthquake toppled the finial head of the statue of the Madonna from the top of the church to the ground, where it crashed and lay inexplicably undamaged and claimed to be miraculous by its devotees.