Catholic Marian church buildings

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 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

Through the centuries, the progression of

Marian apparitions have resulted in the construction of major Marian churches.^[22] Some of the very largest Catholic Marian churches in the world did not start based on a decisions made by informed theologians in Rome but based on the statements of young and less-than-sophisticated people about their religious experiences on remote (and often unheard of) hilltops.^[23][24]

There are remarkable similarities in the accounts of the reported visions which have led to the construction of the churches.

The Shrine of Nostra Signora della Guardia in Genoa, Italy 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 Mary: "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 first approval for a

In May 2016, the local ordinary of the Diocese of San Nicolás de los Arroyos Bishop Cardelli approved as "worthy of belief" the apparitions associated with the Marian image of Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás. A Shrine erected in honor of Mary under this title was inaugurated in 2014. Reports of unusually radiant, glowing rosary beads were followed by a number of brief visions of Our Lady appearing to housewife and mother-of-two Gladys Motta developed into a series of interior locutions over several years, beginning on October 13 the anniversary of apparitions at Fátima. Specific messages led to the discovery—and restoration to veneration—of a long-neglected statue of a Madonna carrying the Christ Child. Occurring at the close of the twentieth century[2] the messages mirror those given at the beginning of the twentieth century to young shepherds in Portugal where the Virgin Mary reportedly identified herself as the Lady of the Rosary. Following approval of the spiritual merits by local religious authorities, a new church dedicated to Marian devotion under this title was erected as requested by Our Lady during the apparitions.

Churches, icons and devotions

Major Marian churches at times house major Marian symbols or icons and the interplay between churches and these symbols can reinforce the effect of Marian devotions. For instance, the Borghese or Pauline Chapel of the

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. The Rosary Basilica was built with the Byzantine architecture 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 style, while the Basilica of St. Pius X, is a very modern building that was completed in 1958 and is almost entirely underground.

Romanesque

The basilica of

Chartres Cathedral near Paris 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. Reims Cathedral, where the kings of France were once crowned, exemplifies the heavier Gothic architecture present in the northern Franco-Germanic areas.

Further south, the

The interior of Notre-Dame Cathedral, Luxembourg 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. Gradually the idea that Mary had been cleansed of original sin at the very moment of her conception began to predominate, particularly after Duns Scotus dealt with the major objection to Mary's sinlessness from conception, that being her need for redemption.^[32] Popes issued degrees and authorized feasts and processions in honor of Mary. Pope Clement IV (1265–1268) created a poem on the seven joys of Mary, which in its form is considered an early version of the Franciscan rosary.

Renaissance

Perhaps the key example of early

The Santa Maria della Pace's Baroque façade, designed by Pietro da Cortona is a good example of a Marian church in Rome that progressed beyond the Renaissance.

The

Some Marian churches are built as a response to specific events, e.g. Santa Maria della Salute in Venice 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

This period also saw the growth of lay Marian devotional organizations such as free rosary distribution groups. An example is Our Lady's Rosary Makers 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

Begun in 1987 the Sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary of San Nicolás in Buenos Aires province, Argentina was inaugurated May 25, 2014. It houses an historical statue of Our Lady identified by private revelations to a lay woman of the diocese that occurred over a number of years, and were documented in a book by Fr. Rene Laurentin, and subsequently approved as "worthy of belief" by the local ordinary Bishop Cardella in May 2016.

See also

• Shrines to the Virgin Mary

References

Citations