Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida

Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida Basílica do Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida
Basílica do Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Minor basilica
Location
Location	Aparecida, Brazil
Architecture
Architect(s)	Benedito Calixto
Type	Church
Specifications
Capacity	45,000
Height (max)	100 meters (328 feet)

The State of São Paulo town of Aparecida, Brazil, houses two Basilicas dedicated to the National Patron Saint, the "Appeared --from the Apparition of the-- Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary", better known as Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, or Our Lady of Aparecida: the "Old Basilica", built between 1760 and 1770 and restored from 1824 to 1834, which was established as a Minor Basilica by Pope Saint Pius X in 1908, and the "New Basilica," dedicated by Pope John Paul II in 1980.

This much larger building became necessary due to the popular devotion to Our Lady of Aparecida, from whom many Brazilian Catholics claim to have received favors and pay her homage by visiting the temple and bringing ex-voto offerings or by fulfilling vows such as by approaching the shrine of the dark wooden statue of the Madonna (or its replica) found by fishermen in the River Paraiba on their knees. Thus, in 1955 construction of new Basilica started. Architect and fresco painter Benedito Calixto designed a building in the form of a Greek cross, 173 m (567 ft) long and 168 m (551 ft) wide; the dome reaches 70 m (229 ft) and the steeple rises to 105 m (334 ft), placing it also amongst the largest churches in the world, holding up to 45,000 people. The 272,000 square meters of parking hold 4,000 buses and 6,000 cars.

The building was consecrated by Pope John Paul II while still under construction, on July 4, 1980. The Pope created the church as a Minor Basilica and named it the most important National Marian Shrine in Brazil.

The New Basilica is now the second or third largest Catholic place of worship in the world, depending on definitions of size. St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City is the largest and and the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Ivory Coast has been mentioned as the second largest but consists mostly of empty, unused space. In 1984, Our lady of Apparecida was officially declared as "the largest Marian Temple in the world." According to the official site of the basilica, in 1999 the number of pilgrims was 6,565,849.

Pope Benedict XVI visited the Basilica of the Shrine of Aparecida on May 12, 2007, during his Apostolic Journey to Brazil on the occasion of the 5th General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean.

See also

• Roman Catholic Marian churches

External links

• Official Website of the National Shrine(in Portuguese)