Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Lourdes Notre Dame du Rosaire de Lourdes(in French) | |
---|---|
![]() The Rosary Basilica from across Rosary Square. Note the modified façade. | |
Religion | |
Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Minor basilica |
Year consecrated | 1901 |
Location | |
Location | ![]() |
Geographic coordinates | 43°05′51″N00°03′27″W / 43.09750°N 0.05750°W |
Architecture | |
Architect(s) | Leopold Hardy |
Type | Church |
Style | Neo-Byzantine |
Groundbreaking | 1883 |
Completed | 1889 |
Specifications | |
Direction of façade | E |
Capacity | 1500 [1] |
Length | 55 metres (180 ft) |
Width | 50 metres (160 ft) |
Website | |
Official website |
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary (French : Notre Dame du Rosaire de Lourdes) 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.
The Rosary Basilica is the third of the churches to be completed on the site (after the Crypt and the Upper Basilica). It was designed by architect Leopold Hardy and completed in 1899. It was consecrated in 1901 and has a capacity of 1,500 worshippers. Its style is influenced by Byzantine architecture.
In 2006-7 the interior and exterior of the basilica were extensively renovated and the mosaics (many of which were deteriorating) were restored.
The nave is open and circular, surmounted by a dome. The dome contains sixteen circular stained glass windows. The fifteen spaces between these windows signify the fifteen decades of the traditional rosary.
The nave is surrounded by fifteen smaller side chapels, one for each of the traditional Mysteries of the Rosary. On the left of the nave are found the Joyful Mysteries; in the centre behind the sanctuary are the Sorrowful Mysteries, and to the right are the Glorious Mysteries.
Each side-chapel comprises a large mosaic with a central image depicting the theme of that Mystery, and an inscription in Latin. Incorporated within the larger image may be smaller images of related themes. For example, the side chapel directly behind the altar contains a depiction of the Crowning with Thorns, which is surmounted by an image of the Ark of the Covenant (see figure).
Most of the mosaics bear a date of around 1900. In each side-chapel is a small altar bearing six candles.
In the upper wall of the sanctuary is a mosaic depicting Mary with outstretched arms and the caption Par Marie à Jésus ("Through Mary to Jesus"). [2] This depiction, of a very young woman facing directly forwards, is much more in keeping with Bernadette's descriptions of the apparition than the iconic statue in the niche in the Grotto.
The exterior of the dome is surmounted by a dramatic gilded crown and cross, which were a gift from the People of Ireland in 1924. The cross was regilded in 2000-2.
The Rosary basilica has a semicircular white marble entry facade, depicting Mary handing the Rosary to St. Dominic.
In 1941, the white marble side doors of the basilica were engraved with a message of gratitude to Marshal Philippe Pétain, who visited Lourdes in 1941 and allowed the Church to reclaim ownership of the Domain. In translation, this inscription read:
In memoriam 1940-41, on the morrow of our disasters, France is trying to rediscover her soul under the government of Maréchal Pétain. [3]
The exterior facade of the basilica has been modified in 2007 to include mosaics depicting the Luminous Mysteries, which were added to the traditional fifteen mysteries by Pope John Paul II in 2002.
Lourdes is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for its Château fort, a fortified castle that rises up from a rocky escarpment at its center.
Bernadette Soubirous, also known as Bernadette of Lourdes, was the firstborn daughter of a miller from Lourdes, in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in France, and is best known for experiencing apparitions of a "young lady" who asked for a chapel to be built at the nearby cave-grotto. These apparitions occurred between 11 February and 16 July 1858, and the woman who appeared to her identified herself as the "Immaculate Conception".
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes is a Catholic Marian shrine and pilgrimage site dedicated to Our Lady of Lourdes in the town of Lourdes, Hautes-Pyrénées, France. The sanctuary includes several religious buildings and monuments around the grotto of Massabielle, the place where the events of the Lourdes apparitions occurred in 1858, among them three basilicas, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, the Rosary Basilica and the Basilica of St. Pius X, respectively known as the upper, lower and underground basilica.
The Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe, officially called Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe is a basilica of the Catholic Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her invocation of Our Lady of Guadalupe, located at the foot of the Hill of Tepeyac in the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City. It belongs to the Primate Archdiocese of Mexico through the Guadalupana Vicariate, which since November 4, 2018, is in the care of Monsignor Salvador Martínez Ávila, who has the title of general and episcopal vicar of Guadalupe and abbot of the basilica.
Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Catholic shrine located in La Crosse, Wisconsin. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The 100-acre (0.40 km2) grounds include a visitors' center and outdoor devotional areas such as a rosary walk, Stations of the Cross, and a votive candle chapel. Mass and the sacrament of Penance are celebrated daily by Norbertine canons of St. Michael's Abbey.
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: "I am 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.
The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence the Deacon & Martyr is a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church in downtown Asheville, North Carolina, United States. The church was designed and built in 1905 by Spanish architect Rafael Guastavino along with his fellow architect R. S. Smith and the Roman Catholic community of Asheville. Pope John Paul II elevated the status of the church to minor basilica in 1993. It is a parish church, located within the Diocese of Charlotte. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is the only basilica in western North Carolina. Its dome, inspired by the Basilica de los Desamparados of Valencia, has a span of 58 by 82 feet, and is reputed to be the largest, freestanding, elliptical dome in North America. The architectural style is Spanish Renaissance.
The Basilica of Saint Pius X, informally 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 that the Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette Soubirous there.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health, also known as Sanctuary of Our Lady of Velankanni, is a Christian shrine located at the town of Velankanni in Tamil Nadu, India. The shrine is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The Basilica of the Holy Trinity is a Catholic church and minor basilica in the Sanctuary of Fátima in Cova da Iria, in the civil parish of Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém in Portugal.
Catholic Marian churches are religious buildings dedicated to the veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary. These churches were built throughout the history of the Catholic Church, and today they can be found on every continent including Antarctica. The history of Marian church architecture tells the unfolding story of the development of Catholic Mariology.
The Our Lady of Victory Basilica is a Catholic parish church and national shrine in Lackawanna, New York. Due to the multiple charities of founder Father Nelson Baker, the shrine is a popular pilgrimage and visitor destination in Lackawanna. It is part of the Diocese of Buffalo.
The Sanctuary of Fátima, officially titled Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima, is a Marian shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima located in Fátima, in the municipality of Ourém, in Portugal. It consists of a group of Catholic religious buildings and structures with the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary as the main building.
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, known widely as the "Upper Church", is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Constructed between 1862 and 1871 and consecrated in 1876, it was the second of the churches to be completed. The church was built on top of the rock above the Grotto and next to the Basilica of our Lady of the Rosary.
St. Dominic's Cathedral, locally known as the Fanchuanpu Tianzhutang, is located by the Min River, Fuzhou, Fujian, China. It is the seat of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Fuzhou and the Ecclesiastical Province of Fuzhou.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes, Blackpool, stands in Whinney Heys Road, Blackpool, Lancashire, England. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade II* listed building, and now owned by Historic Chapels Trust. Locally it is simply known as 'The Shrine' or the 'Bishop's folly'. The 'White Church' is another Church building in Ansdell.
The Basilica of St. Sebastian is a church in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto, Sicily, Italy, raised to the status of a minor basilica in 1991.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy is a minor basilica in Yarumal, Colombia. It belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Santa Rosa de Osos, and is the seat of the parish of the same name. The basilica is devoted to the Virgin Mary, and the patron saint is the Virgin of Mercy. It is the titular church of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga.
St Joseph's Church, Highgate is a parish of the Catholic Church on Highgate Hill, in the Diocese of Westminster, London. It was founded by the Passionist Congregation in 1858. It is a grade II listed building.