WikiWeb_Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate_1

When John Galt founded Guelph on April 23, 1827, he allocated the highest point in the centre of the newly founded town to Roman Catholics as a compliment to his friend, Bishop Alexander Macdonell, who had given him advice in the formation of the Canada Company. A road was also later cleared leading up to the hill and named after the Bishop, called Macdonell Street.
According to the Guelph Public Library archives, Galt wrote the following statement in the deed transferring the land on which the Church of Our Lady would one day stand: "On this hill would one day rise a church to rival St. Peter's in Rome."
The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady Immaculate is the third church to stand on this site, high above the streetscape, overlooking the city of Guelph. The first church, a framed wooden church named St. Patrick's, had been built on the hill by 1835 and was the first structure in Guelph that was painted on both its interior and exterior. It burned to the ground on October 10, 1844.
Construction on St. Bartholomew's Church began shortly after St. Patrick's was destroyed. The new building was completed in 1846. The following inscription appeared on the cornerstone of St. Bartholomew's Church: "To God, the best and greatest. The faithful of Guelph, of the diocese of Toronto have built this new Church, in honour of the blessed Apostle Bartholomew, the first church having been consumed in flames."
Construction of the new church, based on the Cologne Cathedral, began in 1877 under Irish-Canadian architect Joseph Connolly who had designed many churches in Ireland, England and Ontario, notably St. Peter's Cathedral in London, Ontario.
Built of local limestone in High Victorian Gothic Revival style, the Church of Our Lady is considered to be Connolly's masterpiece. The design was inspired by the medieval cathedrals of France, and includes twin towers, a large rose window, pointed windows and an interior design where the chapels radiate from the polygonal apse. Matthew Bell, a well-known Guelph artisan, was responsible for some of the carvings on the exterior as well as on the interior pillars of the church. He died in 1883 as a result of injuries sustained in a fall while working on the building. In 1888, almost twelve years after construction commenced, the church was dedicated to Our Lady Immaculate. The twin towers, which rise to a height of over 200 feet (61 m), were not completed until November 13, 1926. The completed church stands at the head of MacDonell Street as an imposing view terminus, similarly to another major project by Connolly, St. Mary's Church in Toronto.
In 1958, the parish added a new entrance from Macdonell Street, but aside from this, the exterior appearance has changed little since 1926. The complete construction of the church took more than 50 years, probably qualifying it as the longest construction project in the city's history. The 100th anniversary was celebrated on 10 October 1988.

Long-awaited restoration of the church began in April 2007 and was completed in December 2014, at a cost of over $12 million. Talk of restoration began in the early 1990s, with work on the slate roof completed in 1992. Subsequent plans for renovating the interior generated some controversy and were put on hold. Initially, the estimated cost of the inside and outside restoration was between $10 million and $12 million and was expected to last until 2008. It included renovations to the towers ($1.2 million), roof, windows and doors, interior and basement. Funding came from both the congregation and the diocese of Hamilton.
The total cost of the work reached about $10 million, including the exterior restoration and the work on the interior, with the installation of new lighting, new flooring and new pews. A new altar, baptismal font and pulpit were also installed and the basement hall was renovated. A slide show available on the Basilica's web site provides high resolution imagery of the final results.
The project had been directed by Monsignor Dennis Noon who planned to retire in June 2019 after 16 years at this parish.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Our Lady Immaculate_2

The Government of Canada's Federal Designation document provides additional specifics as to the character defining elements:
French Gothic Revival, including a cruciform plan with side aisles, prominent nave, triforium arcades, apse with radiating chapels and ambulatory, twin-towered façade, spire at the central groin vault, and large rose windows; the sense of verticality, created by the use of steeply pitched roofs with gables, dormers, pinnacles, pointed arches, and tall narrow window openings; the symmetrically organized façade with its twin square towers with pinnacles and paired openings, massive rose window with bar tracery set in a moulded pointed arch, row of lintel statuary set within a blind arcade, and carved tympanum; the division of side elevations into bays defined by engaged buttresses, with each bay accented by a pointed arch and a stained glass window; the north and south transepts, each distinguished by two lancet windows below a large, stained-glass, rose window with flanking narrow pinnacles; the polygonal apse, consisting of radiating gabled chapels with another level of gables above; the extensive use of pointed arches and stained glass windows with bar tracery throughout the composition; the Gothic Revival styling of the interior, including, tall pointed-arch windows in the chancel, clerestories inset with rose windows, stained-glass windows, nave-arcades with false triforium-galleries, granite columns with acanthus capitals supporting the aisle arcades, and rib vaulting; the high quality design and craftsmanship of its interior, including its wood and stone carving, its stained glass, its stencilling, its ironwork, its mosaics, and its excellent acoustics; its prominent siting at the top of a hill overlooking the city; viewscapes to and from the church and the city.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana_1

The hilltop overlooking Lake Titicaca was rededicated as a "calvario" or replica of Calvary and is topped by the Stations of the Seven Sorrows of Mary and an altar with a depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus.  It is a major centre of worship throughout the region during Holy Week, especially on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.


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The body of the altar is 12 metres (39 ft) high, 7 metres (23 ft) wide at the base, weighs 70 tonnes (77 short tons), and cost $23,000 dollars. It features 8 monolithic columns, placed in two semicircular rows. Each is 6 metres (20 ft) and 55 centimetres (22 in) in diameter. The columns are Corinthean, fitting with the general architectural style of the church.
The semicircular entablature rests on the capitals, made up of the architrave, frieze, and cornices. On its east side is a semi-dome decorated with high relief ornaments. In the centre is a shield with the initials "I.H.S.", a monogram of the name of Jesus Christ. The dome is topped with a cross. At the bottom of the semi-dome are five medallions representing the titular saint of the parish, Aloysius Gonzaga, and the Four Evangelists. These medallions are placed on a background of Venetian mosaic.
The half dome and columns form a sort of canopy which shelters the altar, church tabernacle, a shrine for the Virgin of Mercy made of green marble and topped by a monogram and a ducal crown, and the throne of the saint which is also decorated and enclosed in frames. In the far part of the altar is a reproduction of the Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper in Venetian mosaic.


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The interest in purchasing a musical instrument to accompany the religious celebrations traces back to 1880, when Father Aldemar Palacio received on 3 June a letter from Jesús María Rodríguez, Provisor of the Bishop of Antioquia. The letter said that it was necessary for all the churches in the diocese to have a musical instrument, and as such ordered that an organ be purchased. However, due to the economic difficulties caused by the construction of the church, the purchase was postponed.
On 11 October 1900, the Presbyter Emigdio A. Palacio informed the Board of the Works on the Church of the need to purchase a musical instrument. The Board of Manufacture resolved unanimously to contribute 1,000 with the cost of the organ quantity of until 1,500 pesos, that they would provide once the instrument was purchased.
In 1947, the Presbyter Francisco Galician Pérez purchased a Hammond organ for 7,000 pesos, which was unveiled on 16 July by the teacher Cabral. It was blessed by the parish priest on 14 September.
The current pipe organ was obtained by the priest Efraím Jiménez from Oskar Binder & Cia. Ltda. of the city of Bogotá, which was the exclusive Colombian representative for E.F. Walcker of Ludwigsburg, Germany. The company was founded in 1785 and had experience in building this type of organs for tropical climates. To provide a quote, a delegate from the firm moved to Yarumal to study the style and acoustics of the church, for which he suggested a pipe organ with 17 registrations, or 1020 pipes in total. It was valued at 102,000 pesos to be paid over three years. Father Jiménez requested permission to approve the contract from Bishop Miguel Ángel Builes, who allowed it and congratulated to the priest for his initiative.
On 19 February 1961 the agreement was signed by the Presbyter Jiménez, Benedicto Soto Mejía (the chief of building), and by Oskar Binder (the delegate from the organ seller).
The pipe organ, weighing four tonnes, was sent from Bogotá by way of Sonsón on 6 March 1963. It arrived in Yarumal three days later, and it was put in the basilica through the "Door of the Pardon". Its installation began on 11 March, overseen by Oskar Binder, and it debuted on 19 March, the Day of Saint Joseph. The instrument was blessed from the pulpit by Bishop Builes before beginning the liturgy on Sunday 24 March.
The Hammond organ was sold to the Chapel of the Conciliar Seminary of Santa Rosa de Osos for 25,000 pesos.
The E.F. Walcker organ is composed of 17 stops spread among two manual keyboards, each with 61 keys, and a keyboard played with the feet to produce low bass notes. All the keyboards are in a console, which is separated and put in front of the organ with sight of the altar. These keyboards control 1,020 pipes of varied length and calibre. The organ is an orchestra in and of itself, with instruments like trumpets, bombards, oboes, clarinets, flutes and human voices. It is made of varnished and sealed mahogany. The organ works with an electrical fan and a 14-volt dynamo providing continuous current to the motor. Of the 32 organs in Antioquia, the basilica's is the eighth largest in area and volume.


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Some of the first representations of the passion and death of Jesus Christ in the church of Our Lady of Mercy were the 50 x 60 cm oil paintings. They were obtained by Bárbara Palacio of Mejía, aunt of Father Benedicto Soto, and donated to the parish, which in turn donated them to the chapel of the Pontifical Seminar of Missions where they still remain. This painting was canonically erected by J. Buenaventura Marín on 7 October 1903, with the priest and vicar Emigdio Palacio bearing witness.
The current paintings in the parish church that show the Stations of the Cross were made in 1945 and 1946 when Francisco Galician Pérez commissioned Mariela Ochoa U. of Medellín to provide 14 oil paintings. The images were copied from a collection of illustrations brought by Father Gallego from Germany. Each painting cost one hundred pesos.


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The old bells of the temple were in terrible shape, as they had cracks reduced their volume. Monsignor Melguizo Yepes arranged the purchase of some new bells, and removed the damaged bells from the right tower and sent them to the Tristancho workshops where they were melted to manufacture new bells. The Tristancho are a family of bellmakers with a long history in Colombia, as they are a dynasty that has made bells for 250 years.
The bells were made using the lost mould technique, as the mould for the bell is used only once and breaks. Therefore, the two bells are not identical. The manufacture of a bell takes two months of work and is totally artesanal. It begins with the preparation of the mould, which is made from three types of clay mixed with horse manure. A frame is built from bamboo, and clay is applied in layers until dry. This operation is repeated several times. Subsequently, the interior and exterior of the mould is machined into the shape of the bell, and sheep tallow is applied to release the mould. Afterwards, a countermould is applied and heated to absorb the tallow so the mould and countermould can be removed. The mould and the countermould are burned, leaving a void that will fill with molten melted.
The foundry process is done in mud ovens where only dry firewood is used for fuel. The copper and the tin are melted at temperatures of 1,200 degrees Celsius. The bell is made in a single piece and in an instant, as it only takes three seconds to fill a mould for a 300 kilogram bell. After the foundry, it is left to cool for two days, then polished by hand.
The three bells are large and made in bronze, and cost 7,500,000 pesos. They were unveiled by Melguizo during the patron saint celebrations in 1997, and were baptised from highest to lowest with the names of the Lady of Mercy, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, and Benedicto, weighing 500, 310, and 300 kilograms respectively. They are used to announce religious activities, operated manually from the lower part of the tower with ropes that move clappers that hang inside each bell.


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In the basilica, three daily masses are celebrated Monday to Saturday. On Sundays there are eight masses. The schedules sometimes change based on celebrations of the patron saint, Holy Week, Christmas, or the Catholic calendar.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Valletta_5

The church's altarpiece is a painting of the Virgin Mary holding a baby Jesus, flanked by saints Simon Stock and Agatha of Sicily. The painting's artist and origins are unknown, but it is believed to date back to at least the late 16th or early 17th centuries and some attribute it to Filippo Paladini. Some sources state that the work was acquired by the Carmelites from Sicily at the time of the first church's construction. The painting was restored by Paul Cuschieri in 1856, by Samwel Bugeja in 1978, and by Godwin Cutajar in the 21st century.
A wooden statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel which was sculpted in Naples in 1781 is located within a niche in the church. It stands on a silver pedestal designed by Abram Gatt, and it was restored by Publius Magro in the 21st century.
The church also includes the 1670s work Beato Franco by Maria de Dominici.


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Numerous people were buried inside the church, including several Hospitaller knights, Caterina Scappi and Caterina Vitale. Scappi and Vitale's Baroque marble tombstones survived World War II and were affixed onto the walls of the new church.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel_0

The Basilica of Our Lady of Scherpenheuvel (Dutch: Basiliek van Onze-Lieve-Vrouw van Scherpenheuvel, French: Basilique de Notre Dame de Montaigu) is a Roman Catholic parish church and minor basilica in Scherpenheuvel-Zichem, Belgium. The church was consecrated in 1627 and raised to the status of a minor basilica in 1922. It is reputedly the most frequently visited shrine of pilgrimage in Belgium. While the cult on the Scherpenheuvel (or Sharp Hill) is older, its present architectural layout and its enduring importance are due to the patronage of the Archdukes Albert and Isabella and the Counter-Reformation.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels, Cartago_0

The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles (Our Lady of the Angels Basilica) is a Roman Catholic basilica in Costa Rica, located in the city of Cartago and dedicated to the Virgen de los Pardos, officially known as Virgen de los Ángeles (the Lady of the Angels). The basilica was built in 1639 and was partially destroyed by an earthquake. The basilica has since been restored and constitutes a unique mix of colonial architecture as well as 19th century Byzantine style, the current building dates back to 1939.
The Basilica of Our Lady of the Angels is consecrated to the Virgin of Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles, a small representation of the Virgin Mary carrying the infant Jesus, said to have been discovered by a peasant girl in Cartago. Tradition claims that the little girl found the small statue on a rock and took it home. The next morning she found that the statue was not there but back at the rock, so she took it to the priest and he locked it in a small box. The next morning the statue was back at the rock. During the construction, the church was destroyed by earthquakes so many times, it was finally decided to move it to the location where the statue was found and they were able to finish construction. Many people think that the earthquakes were signs that the Lady of Los Ángeles wanted the basilica built there.
Owing to the dark complexion of the stone statue, she is sometimes affectionately called La Negrita or Reina de Cartago (lit. Queen of Cartago). The original statue is kept in a golden shell inside the basilica. An official decree declared the Virgin of the Angels the official patron of Costa Rica.
In the days leading to August 2, the Basilica is the object of extensive pilgrimage and visitation by over a million believers (estimates range from 1 to 2.5 million people), many of whom walk from different points throughout the country. However, most people join the 22-kilometer walk to the basilica from San José and surrounding communities.  Locally the pilgrimage is known as the Romería and is one of the most enduring of Costa Rican traditions. As a demonstration of their piety, many people choose to crawl part or the complete journey on their hands and knees.
At the basilica they wash themselves and drink the water from the rock on which the statue was found. Scientists have since found this water to be safe to drink even though no filtration or chemicals are used to purify the water.
The basilica is open all day long and it is not uncommon to find several people stopping in for a prayer. In addition people will bring small silver medals shaped like body parts, where the shape represents the body part the pilgrim is concerned about. They leave them in front of "La Negrita" in hope that they will be cured. After a time, these medals are collected and stored.  A selection of some of them can be seen in a museum Museum in the same site.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Our Lady of the Martyrs, Lisboa_0

The Basilica of Our Lady of the Martyrs  (Portuguese: Basílica de Nossa Senhora dos Mártires ) Is a Catholic church located on Rua Garrett, in Chiado, Lisbon, Portugal in the parish of St Mary (in the territory of the old parish of the Martyrs). Made in the baroque and late neoclassical style, it is an example of the quality of religious architecture in the context of the Pombaline rearrangement of Lisbon.
The parish of Our Lady of the Martyrs was created immediately after the reconquest of Lisbon to the Moors in 1147, which has its origin in a small chapel built to be able to house the image of the Virgin brought by English crusaders, Was called by people as Our Lady of the Martyrs in memory of all the soldiers who died in combat in defence of the Christian faith. According to tradition, D. Afonso Henriques requested the help and protection of the Virgin, and in it, the first baptism was made in the city after the Reconquest.
The hermitage was already a large baroque church in 1755 when it was completely destroyed during the earthquake that hit Lisbon that year. The current basilica was designed by Reinaldo Manuel dos Santos, after having been dedicated by the religious authorities in March 1784.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Saint Martin, Tours_2

In 1860 excavations by Leo Dupont (1797–1876) established the dimensions of the former abbey and recovered some fragments of architecture. The tomb of St. Martin was rediscovered on December 14, 1860, which aided in the nineteenth-century revival of the popular devotion to St. Martin.
After the radical Paris Commune of 1871, there was a resurgence of conservative Catholic piety, and the church decided to build a basilica to St. Martin. They selected Victor Laloux as architect. He eschewed Gothic for a mix of Romanesque and Byzantine, sometimes defined as neo-Byzantine. The new Basilique Saint-Martin was erected on a portion of its former site, which was purchased from the owners. Started in 1886, the church was consecrated 4 July 1925.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Saint Mary (Minneapolis)_1

The Basilica of Saint Mary replaced a previous church, the Church of the Immaculate Conception.  It was originally built in 1871, located at 3rd Street and 3rd Avenue North, but the expanding warehouse district was engulfing the church property.  Archbishop John Ireland announced plans for a new Church of the Immaculate Conception on Christmas Day, 1903.  In 1905, Lawrence S. Donaldson donated a one-block parcel on Hennepin Avenue near Loring Park for the new church buildings.  The design was awarded to Franco-American architect Emmanuel Louis Masqueray, the designer of the Cathedral of Saint Paul.  Masqueray designed it in a Beaux-Arts style.  The groundbreaking was held on August 7, 1907, with foundation construction continuing through May 1908.  The cornerstone was laid on May 31, 1908, with a ceremony involving 30,000 Catholics, twenty bishops, 300 priests and seminarians from the Saint Paul Seminary, and 500 cadets from the College of Saint Thomas.  As construction on the Basilica and the St. Paul Cathedral progressed, Masqueray's architectural genius attracted attention.  American Architect magazine commented, "The two Catholic Cathedrals will be -- when completed, noteworthy achievements in church building for any period; in extent and splendor they promise to surpass anything yet attempted in ecclesiastical work in the United States."
Civic dedication of the church took place on November 4, 1913, and the church was informally opened on May 31, 1914.  It was informally referred to as the Pro-Cathedral of the archdiocese from its beginning, but the parish was still officially named the Church of the Immaculate Conception until September 21, 1921.  It was formally named the Procathedral of Saint Mary at that time.  Although the building was open for worship in 1914, the interior decoration, windows, and plaster work were not completed until 1925.  It was established as a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1926, making it the first basilica in the United States.
In 1941 the basilica was formally consecrated by Archbishop Dennis Dougherty of Philadelphia as part of the Ninth National Eucharistic Congress (which was taking place in Minneapolis and St. Paul at the time).
The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. Its significance is due to three reasons: its excellent architecture and engineering design, as an expression of Baroque influence in church architecture; an example of the history of religious movements in Minnesota; and its place as the first basilica in the United States.
The foundation of the church is of Rockville granite.  The walls are built of white Vermont granite, with a height of 70 feet (21 m) from the floor to the eave-line.  The main entrance is a colonnaded portico with two 116-foot (35 m) spires on each side.  The nave is lighted by five large arched stained glass windows.  The nave has a barrel vault of 82 feet (25 m), exceeding that of the St. Peter's Basilica by two feet.  The sanctuary, at the north end of the nave, is topped with a grand dome measuring 40 square feet (3.7 m²) at the base and rising 138 feet (42 m) above the floor.  Above the dome is a flesche or lantern topped with a bronze cross, measuring another 62 feet (19 m), making the total height 200 feet (61 m) above floor level.  The marble altar is located underneath a 50-foot-high (15 m) marble-columned baldacchino.
In 1991 its old copper roof was replaced, stopping the water leaks and damage and that were occurring.  In 2011, after being named one of 25 Twin City finalists, the building was the recipient of a $100,000 preservation grant from Partners in Preservation, chosen through a public vote; the funds were used to repair the narthex and sacristy of the Basilica, and help restore the paint and gold leaf found throughout the structure.
The basilica received minor fire damage during the rioting and arson that accompanied the 2020 George Floyd protests in Minneapolis–Saint Paul, with two pews being splashed with flammable liquid and burned.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Saint Severinus of Bordeaux_5

Despite the legends surrounding the founding of the church, the presence of an early religious building is attested to in the mid 5th century CE. It was probably a temple or an oratory. It disappeared in the 9th century due to Viking invasions.


The basilica in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré was initially a shrine to honour Saint Anne. On March 8, 1658, settler Étienne de Lessard donated two frontal acres from the west end of his property to the Catholic Church, so that a chapel could be built. This chapel eventually became the site of the modern-day basilica. The chapel was built to provide a place of worship for the new settlers in the area  and to house a miraculous statue of St. Anne. The first reported miracle at the site happened during the shrine's construction.
A man named Louis Guimont was hired to help build the shrine even though he suffered from rheumatism. After placing three stones upon the shrine's foundation, Guimont was cured of all his ailments. This was followed by other testimonies of healed people, and the shrine soon grew in popularity. Many pilgrims came to the shrine hoping to receive a miracle while others, like Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and Queen of France, supported the shrine from a distance. Because of the popularity of the shrine, the building was enlarged several times to accommodate all the pilgrims. In the late nineteenth century, a basilica was constructed around the shrine. In 1876, the first basilica opened for worship.
This was destroyed in a fire on March 29, 1922. The present-day basilica was built in 1926 on the site of the prior church. Architects Maxime Roisin, Louis N. Audet and Joseph-Égilde-Césaire Daoust collaborated on the project from 1923-1931. After the end of the Great Depression, work on the interior resumed in 1937, and was finally completed in 1946.
Pilgrims are attracted from across Canada and the United States. Miracles are still believed to occur at the basilica. Two pillars near the entrance are filled with racks of crutches, canes, braces, and other signs of disabilities. Each item has been left by a pilgrim who reports being healed at the basilica.
The wooded hillside next to the basilica has a memorial chapel and a Way of the Cross, with life-sized Stations of the Cross. Higher up the hill the Convent of the Redemptoristines can be found. Built in 1906 and declared a historic site in 2001, it no longer operates as a convent and has essentially been abandoned in the early 21st century.


Joseph-Émile Brunet designed twenty-four capitals (1948) for the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, which depict 52 religious subjects reflecting the life of Jesus. He sculpted 14 "Stations of the Cross" lining the walls of the Cathedral, with stone statues of Saint Anne and Saints at the entrance of the Cathedral. Joseph-Émile Brunet also created the fountain in front of the Basilica and the 7' 6"-high stone sculpture in niches that can be seen on entering the basilica, "Marie de L'Incarnation", "Saint Joseph", "The Virgin with Jesus", ""François de Laval", and "St. Joachim", in addition to a bronze sculpture of Kateri Tekakwitha, 6' 4" high.


The Basilica of San Albino (Spanish: Basílica de San Albino), formerly known as San Albino Church of Mesilla, is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces and is located in Mesilla, New Mexico. It has the distinction of having originally been established in Mexico, but it is now located in the United States as a result of a transfer of territory in the Gadsden Purchase. The first church on the site was built in 1852; the current structure was built in 1906, and is one of the oldest churches in the region. Daily Masses are held in both Spanish and English.


The interior has a nave and two aisles separated by two series of rounded arches which are supported by twenty-two columns, taken from ancient edifices, in gray marble and pink granite, and three pairs of cruciform pilasters. Most of the capitals are of Roman origin. The nave is some three time wider than the aisles, and is covered by wooden trusses; the aisles have instead cross vaults.
The high altar, which until the 19th century was in the middle of the nave, is now in the south-western apse; the opposing apse has a wooden catafalque of the 17th century, housing polychrome statues of the martyrs Gabinus, Protus and Ianuarius.
The aisles led to the anti-crypt, in Renaissance style with statues of martyrs, and the crypt, which houses ancient Roman sarcophagi; the latter in turn house remains attributed to the Turres' martyrs.


WikiWeb_Basilica of San Magno, Legnano_3

The greatest monetary contributions to the construction of the basilica church were made by the Lampugnani and Vismara families, two of the oldest families in Legnano. The cornerstone was laid on 4 May 1504 and construction was finished on 6 June 1513. The decoration of the basilica church's interior began shortly thereafter with the frescoes of Gian Giacomo Lampugnani on the main dome. The church received its first two bells in 1510. The next year, however, on 11 December 1511, Legnano was razed and sacked Swiss soldiers, then fighting for the Holy League of 1511 during the War of the League of Cambrai. The church was also damaged; the scaffolding on its exterior was incinerated. Writing about the construction of the basilica church, Agostino Pozzi, the provost of Legnano, reported in the Storia delle chiese di Legnano:
[...] The church of S. Magno, as can be seen from a travel guide by Alessandro Lampugnano, was begun in 1504 on 4 May, and was built to perfection in 1513. And this building would have been built to perfection in a much shorter time, had it not been for the calamity of war that this country suffered, in particular the land of Legnano, given that, falling in the street of Varese in the year 1511 on 10 December, with one side bleached and the rest sacked; it confirms the work of Alessandro Lampugnano, and conforms to what Guicciardino says in his story in the book X. [...]
— Agostino Pozzi, Storia delle chiese di Legnano, 1650
Work on the church was suspended from 1516 to 1523, for two reasons. The second was that funding for the church had ceased; the primary donors, the local nobility, were made destitute after the French drove the Sforzas from the Duchy of Milan in 1499 and subsequent fighting. That poverty among the nobility was also the author of much administrative disruption in Legnano, as they fought to hold onto their possessions within the Duchy. Compounding all these difficulties was a disinterest in Legnano by the Archbishop of Milan, who began withdrawing holy orders from the area. This had been provoked by the loss of the rebellious tendencies Seprio's inhabitants, and thus the need for ducal troops in Legnano.
The original plans of the basilica have been lost and therefore no documents bearing the signature of its architect. Bramante's name, in fact, appears only in later written testimonies. The design of the basilica of San Magno was probably carried out by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo or his follower Tommaso Rodari on a design by Donato Bramante. The proof that assigns the authorship of the drawings to the famous artist is contained in a writing of 1650 by Agostino Pozzo, provost of San Magno, which reads:
[...] The design of this building is by Bramante, architect of the most famous who had Christianity. [...]
— Agostino Pozzi, Storia delle chiese di Legnano, 1650
The first document that mentions Donato Bramante as an architect of the basilica of San Magno is instead a text by Federico Borromeo, then archbishop of Milan, which is connected to his pastoral visit to Legnano in 1618, an excerpt of which states:
[...] The architecture of this church is remarkable, which was entirely designed by the distinguished architect Bramante. This church needs an equally beautiful facade that aesthetically satisfies its view. It should therefore be made using precious marbles, providing niches, statues, pinnacles and other decorative elements, and everything necessary to increase its beauty. [...]
— Excerpt from the document relating to the pastoral visit made in Legnano in 1618 by Cardinal Federico Borromeo
The construction was then directed by an unnamed master, and Legnano's most experienced artist, Gian Giacomo Lampugnani. Gian Giacomo was a distant relative of Oldrado II Lampugnani, the 13th century master builder who had built Lampugnani Manor and Visconteo Castle. Gian Giacomo had also created the first piece of interior decor for the basilica with his 1515 fresco on the main vault.
The basilica was consecrated on 15 December 1529 by Francesco Landino, auxiliary bishop for the Archdiocese of Milan.


WikiWeb_Basilica of San Magno, Legnano_8

The plan of the basilica is typically Renaissance. It no longer follows the typical elongated rectangular shape towards the altar of medieval churches, but has a central octagonal plan that allows a perspective view in all directions. The visitor, in every position, can indeed find perspective angles, foreshortenings and architectural spaces that satisfy the view. In the Middle Ages, however, the perspective was all centered on the high altar.
The Bramantesque churches do not have a main façade around which secondary volumes rotate, but they have a series of symmetries and perspective spaces that have about the same importance and form the whole of the entire structure. The octagonal plan of the basilica of San Magno has a short transept that provides the church with a cross shape. On the corners of the latter there are also four small chapels.


WikiWeb_Basilica of San Magno, Legnano_13

The floor, which was made of white, black and red Verona marble, was laid in the 18th century. It has a geometric checkered pattern made with inlay, with the motif under the dome that converges towards the center of the basilica, recalling the lines of the vault and – more generally – the curved profiles of the surrounding vertical walls, which in turn close together in the dome above.
Until the 18th century the entire church was paved with terracotta tiles: this original flooring remained intact only in the chapel of sant'Agnese, which is therefore the only part of the basilica that was not paved with marble, while at the interior of the main chapel, during some works, the remains of the ancient terracotta flooring were found under the marble pavement.
The choirs stalls, which are located inside the main chapel, were built in the  17th century in walnut wood by the Coiro brothers, or by the same carvers who carved the aforementioned small temple with a tabernacle in the sacristy. The choir stalls, which are of fine artistic workmanship, have a Renaissance style.
With the changes that took place in the first part of the 20th century, the ancient stalls of the choir of the basilica lost that austerity that was typical of the Renaissance period. The platform built in the first part of the 20th century, however, concealed part of the frescoes on the walls, in particular the scenes of the Visit of the Magi and the Return of the family of Jesus to Nazareth, and therefore in 1968 a new platform was built, this time lower, which solved the problem.
The organ of the basilica was built in 1542 by the Antegnati family thanks to the testamentary bequest of Francesco Lampugnani, who donated 25 liras to the parish of San Magno for the realization of the musical instrument and 16 liras for its positioning. The choir in walnut wood is instead the work of the painter Gersam Turri. It was placed in its current position in 1640 and it was restored on two occasions (one in the 19th century and the other in the 20th century).
The organ of the basilica of San Magno, which is older than the one preserved in the Duomo of Milan, is perhaps the only pipe instrument manufactured by the Antegnati family that has come down to us practically intact. According to many music experts, the organ of the basilica of San Magno is an excellent instrument, above all for the sweetness and sonority of the chords.


WikiWeb_Basilica of San Magno, Legnano_14

The first decorative work carried out in the basilica was carried out in 1515 by Gian Giacomo Lampugnani, who frescoed the grotesque church vault. Accompanied by the wise internal natural lighting originating from the side openings of the vault, which allow a calibrated luminosity at any time of day, the overall effect is of absolute importance, so much so that even the art historian Eugène Müntz, who defined this decoration "the most beautiful grotesque in Lombardy".
The vault is divided into eight segments within which the large candelabra are frescoed from which branches, starting from the bottom, are unwound. Inside this drawing the windows of the dome open. The painting is then completed with the representation of centaurs, dolphins, eagles, satyrs, sea horses, harpies, winged putti and dragons, whose dominant colors are white and gray in chiaroscuro. The blue of the background was made using a lapis lazuli powder dye.
Just below the dome there is an octagonal tholobate which is frescoed with a softer shade than that of the vault: this is the opposite of what is generally done in the decorations of contemporary churches in the basilica, which are instead characterized by stronger colors in the lower parts and more tenuous in the upper architectural sections. The tholobate is characterized by the presence of twenty-four niches which are internally painted with a gray shade and with a rather dark blue color, which brings out the penumbra originating from the recesses: on the pillars of the drum are represented candelabras, which take up the decoration of the vault.
In 1923 Gersam Turri painted in the spandrels, in the spaces between the major arches and in the capitals, twelve roundels, one in each architectural element, containing the faces as many biblical prophets (from left and right, starting from the arch located at the chapel of the Blessed Sacrament and of the outward, Joel, Daniel, Jonah, Obadiah, Amos, Haggai, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Ezekiel, Micah, Zechariah, and Malachi), which were added to the four prophets previously painted: Jeremiah and Isaiah, which are above the major chapel and which were presumably made by Bernardino Lanino; Solomon and David, painted by the Lampugnani brothers above the arch of the chapel of the Holy Crucifix.
This cycle of paintings was made by Turri inspired by the frescoes in the main chapel, which are the work of Lanino. The pilasters were decorated, again by Gersam Turri in 1923, with candelabra on a blue background: these decorations also resume the frescoing of the vault. The sub-arches are embellished with paintings depicting the Greek. The pilasters, before the frescoes by Gersam Turri, were all decorated with gray stripes and squares: the same gray color was also characteristic of the spandrels then painted in 1923.


WikiWeb_Basilica of San Magno, Legnano_15

The vault and walls of the main chapel were painted by Bernardino Lanino presumably between 1562 and 1564, at the height of his artistic maturity, thanks to the economic contribution of the Lampugnani family. The work of the Lanino consists of eight large frescoes plus two small scenes that are located above the windows: the cycle of paintings was designed to "rotate" around Bernardino Luini's polyptych, which is located in the center of the front wall and which it was created a few decades before this work.
The cross vault is decorated with fruit festoons and pairs of cherubs, which were made with a grotesque style. The dominant color of the vault is golden yellow, which deliberately contrasts with the dark blue of the main dome. The subjects painted on the vault of the chapel have a typically 15th century Lombard style. The upper part of the wall, being located under the cornice, is still, from an architectural point of view, part of the vault of the chapel; it is divided into lunettes, which are all frescoed. The lateral lunettes, which are next to the large windows, depict the four evangelists: those on the left saint Matthew and saint John, while the lunettes on the right are saint Mark and saint Luke. On the lunettes of the frontal wall instead the first four doctors of the Church, namely Ambrose, Augustine of Hippo, Jerome and Pope Gregory I.
The walls under the cornice were also painted. On the wall to the right of the altar are represented the Marriage of the Virgin, the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Visit of the Magi. The left wall is decorated with the Journey to Nazareth, the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Massacre of the Innocents, the Return to Nazareth and the Dispute. In this last scene there are portraits of Lanino and his helper, who lend their faces to some passers-by[58]. The triumphal arch is instead frescoed with angels in flight and with geometric motifs decorated with fruits. The lapel of the fresco that gives towards the center of the church is instead painted with candelabra of fruit and vegetables, while on the space between the triumphal arch and the pylons of the building there are two roundels that are supported by angels having the face of two prophets.
On the back wall, on the sides of the Luini polyptych, are painted saint Roch and saint Sebastian, while on the entrance pillars are depicted Jesus Christ and saint Magnus. The latter are topped by canopies embellished with purple curtains. Also frontally there are also depictions of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah and four putti. This chapel, as a whole, has a great artistic value, especially with regard to the invoice of the painted characters. According to experts, it represents one of Lanino's masterpieces.
Behind the main altar is a polyptych by Bernardino Luini from 1523 depicting the Madonna and Child, seven musician angels and four saints (John the Baptist, saint Peter, Magnus and Ambrose). This work is flanked by God the Father depicted in a tympanum. On the lower predella, inside the small vertical compartments, saint Luke and saint John, the Ecce homo, saint Matthew and saint Mark are depicted in dark light, while in the horizontal sections the Christ nailed is painted, again with the same technique the crucifixion of Jesus, the Pose in the Sepulcher, the Resurrection of Jesus and the supper at Emmaus.


WikiWeb_Basilica of San Simplicio, Olbia_0

The Basilica of San Simplicio is a Basilica in Olbia, northern Sardinia, Italy.
It was built in the late 11th century on a small hill, once located outside the city walls, used since the Carthaginian times as a cemetery area. In the area already existed a Palaeo-Christian church, built most likely between 594 and 611, which in turn was located near a Roman temple. The apse, the walls and most of the internal columns were finished in the 11th century; the barrel vault of the aisles and the upper parts of the side walls were built in the early 12th century, while the façade was completed in the middle of that century.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Santa Maria, Igualada_6

The main altarpiece is possibly the most important element of the church. Although construction began in the 18th century, the work was not completed until the end of that century, due to the War of the Spanish Succession. This delay meant that the Baroque style of the initial project was offset by a certain classicism during the final execution. The altarpiece is the work of Jacint Morató and Josep Sunyer. During the civil war it was dismantled and partially destroyed. After the conflict, it was rebuilt under the direction of the well-known architect Cèsar Martinell. The most recent restoration of Santa Maria, in the 1980s, included cleaning work on the altarpiece.
The altarpiece of Santa Maria is considered the first major work of Catalan art made after the Succession War, and has three clearly differentiated levels. The center is dominated by the figure of the Immaculate Conception, carried by angels and located within a niche. At the sides, the Virgin Mary is flanked by figures of her parents, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, under which there are medallions representing two passages from the life of the Virgin: the wedding and the Presentation of Mary. The image of the Virgin is crowned by a dove representing the Holy Spirit, on which there is a medallion with the Eternal Father. On the second floor of the altar there are images of Saint Roch and Saint Faust, linked to the traditional prayerbook of Igualada. Both figures are flanked by four musician angels, typical of the baroque imagery. Among them, the angel which plays the guitar is considered an almost unique specimen in the religious iconography of the period. At the upper floor, the altar is crowned by the figure of St. Bartholomew, patron of Igualada, the Sun and the gates of Jerusalem. Symbolically, all the altarpiece is sustained by four Atlas made of marble, representing the four seasons of the year. The side walls have two sculptural panels, crowned by the emblem of the city, representing the Epiphany and the adoration of the shepherds.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore di Siponto_1

The building has an unusual square plan, consisting of two independent churches (one, underground, is the current crypt), two apses on the southern and eastern walls, and a medieval monumental portal with two side lions, facing the road entering in Manfredonia.
The interior, with four pillars, dates to the 11th century, and once housed the icon of the Holy Virgin of Siponto (Italian: Maria Santissima di Siponto), dated to the 7th century. The icon is now in the Manfredonia Cathedral, as well as the polychrome wood Byzantine statue of "La Sipontina" (6th century) The underground church dates to the early Middle Ages, and was replaced by the upper one after having been destroyed by an earthquake.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Santa Maria della Quercia, Viterbo_1

In 1417, a local artist painted an icon of the Virgin following the design of a local painter Maestro Martello. The image was placed on an oak tree in the countryside, and became a source of veneration, which only increased in 1467 during a scourge of the plague. Miracles were attributed to the icon, and the image was ensconced in a chapel.
An altar was erected in 1467 and a chapel commissioned by Pope Paul II. The chapel was initially affiliated with the Gesuati order, a Tuscan order which specialized in the aid to pilgrims. The Franciscans within a few years substituted the Gesuati and commissioned this larger church. The church was constructed between 1470 and 1525. On the 8 of April 1578, the church was consecrated by the Cardinal Francesco de Gambara, who is buried in the church. The event was celebrated with a cycle of frescoes at the Palazzo dei Priori, Viterbo. The sanctuary acquired many patrons, including popes. In 1867, Pius IX made the church a minor basilica.
The facade is built with rustic stone. The three portal lunettes have terracotta decorations depicting the Madonna, Saints and Angels (1504–1508), completed by Andrea della Robbia. The bell tower has three orders of columns. The interior has a central nave and two aisles with a ceiling designed by Antonio da Sangallo the younger, depicting the symbols of the Madonna, Pope Paul III, and the Lion symbol of Viterbo.  The Campanile, built in 1481–1505 by Ambrogio da Milano, was demolished in the 17th century.
The counter-facade has a fresco (1636) depicting the Miracle of the Priest of Canapina by Angelo Pucciati. The walls of the chapels have 17th and 18th-century frescoes detached from nearby suppressed or destroyed churches. In the presbytery is a small tempietto structure (1490) by Andrea Bregno, surrounding paintings were completed Michele Tosini, nephew of Domenico Ghirlandaio.
The apse has intarsia in the wooden choir stalls, and there is a tondo in the vault displaying a Madonna della Quercia (1519) by il Truffetta. The main altarpiece in the choir depicts the Coronation of the Virgin completed by Mariotto Albertinelli.
Left of the nave is a small room with ex-votos, including silver plaques and paintings from the 15th through 18th centuries depicting miracles attributed to the Madonna della Quercia. It also contains a 15th-century bust of Christ by Matteo Cividale, precious coral decorations from the 16th century.
The convent of Santa Maria della Quercia has two cloisters: one built in 1550–1663; the other choir, known as il Grande o della Fontana, has a Renaissance layout with 17th-century frescoed lunettes depicting the Miracles of the Madonna.
The church was elevated to the rank of minor basilica in 1867.


The church was built between 1908 and 1911.  According to the church history, each member of the church who was 12 or older was asked to give $45, haul six wagon loads of Fencepost limestone and four loads of sand each year until the church was built. Some families brought as many as 70 to 80 wagonloads of stone.  The nickname The Cathedral of the Plains was bestowed upon the structure by former presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan after he visited the town in 1912.  Its 48 historic stained-glass windows were installed in 1916, by Munich Studios in Chicago, at a cost of $3,700, and are now valued at more than $1 million.  The church was added to the National Register in 1971.
In 1994, the church began a series of restoration efforts. The congregation spent more than $265,000 on weatherproofing the exterior, re-plastering and repainting the interior and updating the sound, electrical and heating systems.  Work also included installing a marble floor in the sanctuary for $60,000 and replacing old carpeting and linoleum floors in other areas.  The parish re-shingled the church roof in 2006 for $137,000.
In 2011, it replaced the parking lot and sidewalks for $225,000, and spent $70,000 on repairing the plaster ceilings and walls that had cracked with age.  In 2013, an Arkansas company replaced plastic coverings that were installed in the mid-1980s to protect stained glass window from Kansas storms.  As it aged, the plastic grew opaque, however the new coverings are tempered glass which will remain clear.
After approval by the Vatican in early March 2014, Bishop Edward Weisenburger of the Diocese of Salina dedicated St. Fidelis Church as a Minor Basilica on Saturday, June 7, 2014.


WikiWeb_Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Dyersville_2

The basilica features Ruskinian Gothic Revival architecture.  The two steeples are 212 feet (65 m) tall with 14 feet (4.3 m) crosses that cap the spires.  This helps make the church visible from miles away across the rolling lightly forested farmland.  Pilots often use these steeples as landmarks during flights.  The church is a rectangular structure that measures  174.5 by 70 feet (53.2 by 21.3 m) and is 76 feet (23 m) high.  It has a polygonal apse on its west side.  The interior includes columns and vaulted ceilings.  The church has a seating capacity of about 1,000 people.  There are about 5,000 people total in the parish.
The church has 64 large cathedral glass windows.  There are two notable windows in the church. The first is the rose window above the entrances to the church, installed in 1959.  It replaced a conventional church window on which the framework had become deteriorated. An Indian motif was selected in recognition of many local Indian tribes that inhabited this area 150 years earlier.
The two side altars were designed by J. E. Brielmaier and erected by the Dubuque Altar Company in March 1897.  They measure 36 by 15 feet (11.0 by 4.6 m) and are made of butternut.  Mary's altar is called "The Coronation" and Joseph's is called "The Holy Family".  Brielmaier also designed the butternut Baldacchino over the high altar, which is carved Italian marble by the Milwaukee Monument Company, and they were both installed in December 1897.  The Baldacchino rises to a height of 52 feet (16 m).  The wood carved crucifix above the altar was created in 1873 for the original church.  The ornate pulpit from 1906 sits to the left of the altar.  Also carved in butternut, it was originally located in the nave and had a carved canopy over it.  It was moved into chancel in the 1940s and the canopy was removed at that time.  The images carved on the pulpit include the Evangelists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John as well as the Apostles Peter and Paul; and five Doctors of the Western Church: Ambrose, Jerome, Gregory, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas. A free-standing altar was commissioned from the John C. Kaiser Company of Dubuque and created by Fritz Ganshirt.  It was installed in 1973.
Above the high altar is a large central painting of the heavenly liturgy mentioned in Revelations 5: the Adoration of the Mystical Lamb of God.  To the right are images of the prophets that include John the Baptist, Noah holding the ark, David playing the harp, Melichisedech holding bread and wine, Moses holding the Ten Commandments, and the Three Magi with their gifts.  The image of Msgr. M.M. Hoffmann, the pastor when the church was named a Basilica, was added in 2000. To the left are images of saints that include the Blessed Virgin Mary, George with a spear, Lawrence with a gridiron, Stephen with stones, Joseph with a lily, Rose of Lima with a crown of roses, Peter with keys, Paul with sword, Henry the King, Boniface, Francis of Assisi, Francis Xavier, Catherine, and Cecilia playing the organ.  An image of the Rev. George W. Heer, who was pastor of the parish when the original painting was done, was added during its restoration.
The Stations of the Cross that line side walls were installed in 1959.  The plaster bas reliefs replaced the original set that dated from 1870, which had deteriorated.
The images on the center aisle were installed in 1998.  It is the first floor of its kind in the United States to combine "epoxy based terrazzo, and computer generated water jet laser cutting for the brass molds."  The symbols in the floor include the coats of arms of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Pope Pius XII, the Basilica, and the Papal insignia of the Tiara and Keys.
In 1971 a new organ was installed in the church that replaced the Basilica's original pipe organ, which dated from 1913.  The 27-rank organ located in the rear gallery is a custom made instrument designed for the Basilica by the Wicks Organ Company of Highland, Illinois. The organ was designed keeping in mind the size of the church and the acoustical qualities of the building.  In 2019 the organ was rebuilt and expanded by the Reuter Organ Company, giving the organ a new facade of speaking pipes and adding the choir division that had been left out of the 1971 organ.  Additionally due to damage from a lightning strike shortly after the 1971 organ was installed, the organ was experiencing issues with its electrical system.  This electrical system was replaced with a fiber optic system which is much more resistant to electrical issues than the older organ.
Because one of the roles of the basilica is to serve as the Pope's church in the event he would visit the area, the church features a special bell called a Tintinnabulum, and an umbrella called an Umbraculum.  Visitation of the Pope has been heavily rumored in Vatican circles as part of the next North American trip, scheduled for 2019, and funds are expected to be appropriated so that the umbrella can be opened all the way.


The first building to be built on St. John's tomb was a mausoleum of sort, which also served as a church . In the 4th century, a basilica was built over it during the reign of Theodosius. Two centuries later, as the site lay in ruins, Justinian began his construction of a much grander church. In comparison, the Theodosian Basilica measured at 246 x 146 feet while Justinian's Basilica measured at 428 x 213 feet. The plan was laid out on the site of Constantine's Apostoleion and would be arranged in a Greek cross pattern.  And although the construction of this church was by imperial order, the people of Ephesus were the ones who did much of the building. The marble decorations were made in Constantinople and perhaps in Ephesus as well. The bases, column and capitals of the nave were made and imported from Constantinople or the quarries of Proconnesus. While much of the capital of the Eastern part of the church were done by local craftsmen instead, following the Constantinopolitan pattern and model. Even after the reign of Justinian, decorations were still added, most notably by Justin II and Tiberius II
The most striking feature of the basilica is its massive apse attached to the eastern piers of the crossing with an encircling passage between its two walls which is believed to have been tunnel-vaulted.
As Procopius has stated, the land surrounding the church was very uninhabitable nor could it be used to cultivate anything. To solve this, Justinian had an aqueduct built near the church, which in time, greatly helped the city of Ephesus and provided the surroundings of the church to flourish through the centuries.


The interior of the vault within the church was covered in mosaic while the walls and pillars were covered in marble plates and decorated in different colors. The floors were also covered in mosaics. Numerous parts of the Basilica were of different arrangement which gave the impression of a large quantity of beautiful enormous oriental carpets covering the entire church “in a fairy-like manner”. Directly beneath the altar laid a crypt with several rooms and of those, the tomb of St. John itself. On the altar itself, the inscription of the 14th verse of the 132nd Psalm can be read where St. John states:
This is my resting place forever, here will I dwell.
The church inside would have also been covered in frescoes. The Ephesus bishop, Hypatius, was known for his advocation in the use of images in the church. After the completion of the St. John's church, the interior was covered by images, representations of saints and scenes from the Old and New Testaments. Paintings would have included those of Christ raising Lazarus from the dead and Christ crowning Justinian and Theodora. Aside from these, other possible epigrams would have appeared inside the church one of which would have been the first book of the Greek Anthology and also paintings that reflect the origins of the church as an imperial commission.


WikiWeb_Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Berlin_0

The Basilica of St. John the Baptist (German: Basilika St. Johannes der Täufer Patron von Breslau) also called Basilica of St. John the Baptist Patron of Breslavia is the Catholic cathedral seat of the Military Ordinariate of Germany. The church is located in the district of Neukölln in Berlin.
The first stone of the basilica was placed in 1894. The architect of the project was August Menken, who had thought of the church as a basilica in the Romanesque style of the Rhine. The solemn inauguration of the church took place on May 8, 1897 in the presence of Emperor William II and Empress Augusta Victoria.
On December 3, 1906, Pope Pius X awarded the church the title of the Minor Basilica. From February 1, 2005, the church became the headquarters of the military regular of the Federal Government.


WikiWeb_Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral_1

The cornerstone was laid on July 16, 1816, with construction beginning thereafter, with the use of slave labor.  Materials used for its construction were found in the immediate area.  The architect and builder was John Rogers  of Baltimore. By 1819 it was sufficiently completed for Mass to be held.  The interior was fully complete by 1823.  Many of the paintings and interior decorations were donated by Pope Leo XII, King Louis-Philippe of France and others.  The gift from the King of France included paintings by Murillo, Van Dyke and others.  Gifts of royal embroidered vestments—the handwork of the queen and her court—and sacramental vessels were also made.


WikiWeb_Basilica of St. Mary and St. Bartholomew_0

The Basilica of St. Mary and St. Bartholomew is a Roman Catholic church in Piekary Śląskie, Poland. There was a church in Piekary Śląskie from the fourteenth century. The current church, designed by Daniel Grötschel in Neo-Romanesqe style, was completed in 1849. On 1 December 1962, Pope John XXIII elevated the church to the status of minor basilica.


WikiWeb_Basilica of St. Paulinus, Trier_4

Sixty years after the destruction of the second church by French troops, Franz Georg von Schönborn-Buchheim, Archbishop of Trier, funded the erection of a new basilica.  Designed as a single nave, probably by the architect Christian Kretzschmar, most of the internal elements were the work of Johann Balthasar Neumann, a significant Baroque architect responsible for several impressive buildings, such as the Würzburg Residence.  Dates for the completion of the church are given as 1743 or 1753, but it was consecrated in 1757.  The tower reaches a height of 53 metres, and the length of the building is 52 m.
Between 1802 and 1804, the monastery associated with the church was dissolved when assets were seized by the French, losing the church its collegial status and becoming a parish church instead.  On 23 May 1958, Pope Pius XII awarded the church Basilica minor status.


WikiWeb_Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, Prague_0

The Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul is a neo-Gothic church in Vyšehrad fortress in Prague, Czech Republic.
Founded in 1070–1080 by the Czech King Vratislav II, the Romanesque basilica suffered a fire in the year 1249 and has been rebuilt in Gothic and later in neo-Gothic style. The basilica features an impressive stone mosaic above its entry, and its twin 58 m towers can be seen atop a hill to the south from along the Vltava River in central Prague.
Behind the church is located large park and Vyšehrad cemetery, the final resting place of many famous Czechs, including author Karel Čapek and composer Antonín Dvořák. In 2003 the church was elevated to basilica by Pope John Paul II.


WikiWeb_Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, Prague_1

The current building itself is a neo-Gothic basilica. It was constructed between 1887 and 1903. The first master builder was Joseph Mocker but he died mid-way through construction. It was finished by his partner František Mikš who modified the façade and tower designs from Mocker’s original plans. The main part of the church consists of a nave with two side aisles; a large choir, sanctuary and apse; and two side rooms which hold a sacristy and a chapel for Panna Maria Šancovská Our Lady of the Ramparts.
There is no transept. Structurally, the building is quite vertical, its ceiling is cross vaulted and the pointed arched windows let in the sun's light through stained glass. A few meters east of where the church now stands beyond the cemetery walls the original foundations from the apse of the old Gothic church were excavated. The old apse and the new apse are designed in the same fashion; they are both buttressed and have the same number of buttresses.
The western façade features three vestibules, two towers, and a crowning triangular gable between the towers. The main portal tympanum is decorated by Jesus standing with his apostles. Below them the archangel Michael stands between people being ushered to heaven by angels, and people crippled by the suffering of sin. On the gable face stand sculptures of the basilica’s namesake saints Peter and Paul with angels and Jesus.
Another interesting feature of the Ss. Paul and Peter’s Basilica design is the spires, which are hollow. They have slender holes making the tops of the towers light and elegant reminiscent of the conic formation of the chestnut flowers one can find blooming in trees along the walkways in the Vyšehrad complex. The spires (and indeed the triangular gable of the façade between them) are frilled with petal like finial protrusions along their length and on their tops, further connecting their likeness to the flower.


WikiWeb_Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul, Prague_2

History is the dominant element thematically of the interior décor; the history of art, Christianity and the Czech lands are all aspects of the decoration. As a piece of art history the church is something of an exhibition of Gothic, art nouveau and even Baroque pieces.
Along with the design of the building the main altar, the pulpit, and all the smaller altars in the side chapels are neo Gothic as well. They are intricately carved with mini-spires and tracery throughout. Even the organ which sits above the entrance has hollow spires matching those of the western towers. In addition, each chapel contains Gothic revival paintings. The theme of the stained glass windows is the history of Gothic architecture; each window portrays Jesus before a different Gothic or neo-Gothic church. Completing the tribute to the Gothic style is a large fresco at the eastern end of the northern aisle of the first Gothic church to stand on the spot. The original picture copied for the painting is taken from the book by J.F. Hammerschmidt Gloria et majestas sacrosanctae, regiae, exemptae et nullius diaecesis Wissehradensis ss. Apostolorum Petri et Pauli from the year 1700, but its architectural accuracy must be questioned because it is a romantic engraving made over 100 years after the Gothic church existed.
Also, in each chapel are large baroque paintings from the 16th century, maintaining the link to another part of the church's past; the last building to be on the spot was a baroque church built in the first quarter of the 18th century. It had no towers, but the façade was quite decorative including a great number of ionic pillars.
Seemingly every inch of the walls, pillars and ceilings is covered with the ornate, flowing decoration of the painter František Urban and his wife Marie Urbanová-Zahradnická inspired by Alfons Mucha. Nameless winged women flank the archways from the nave and fill the vault sections of the arcades. Up the pillars and along every picture's border run floral patterns and colourful ribbons. The vivid greens and browns which cover the entirety of the interior create a feeling of being inside a forest. The ceiling of the nave is dark green, as if it is a canopy in shadow. Even the brown wooden benches on the ground for the beholders of church services are ornately carved with oak leaves.


The sacristy and the northern choir above the main nave are accessible by two separate Gothic portals. The sacristy and the choir have a ribbed net vault. The oratory's vault contains ribs, which are placed directly into the wall on figural consoles portraying St George in battle with the dragon.


The roof of the church is the result of the reconstruction in the 1880s. The nave and the presbytery have a gable roof. The south nave has a very shallow aisle roof covered with metal sheets.


Floors in the main and side aisle and in both southern chapels are made of stoneware tiles laid in concrete.


WikiWeb_Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Dillingen_0

The Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul  (German: Basilika SS. Peter und Paul ) also called Dillingen Basilica is a Catholic church located in Dillingen, Germany,  and functions as basilica and co-cathedral of the diocese of Augsburg.
The three-nave church was built in the years 1619-1628 by court architect Hans Alberthal on the foundations of the earlier churches dating from the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries. The church is 54.8 meters long, 22.3 meters high and 22 meters wide. Due to the damages suffered during the Thirty Years' War, in 1643 its structure was renewed. With the addition of the tower in 1669, the church reached 49 meters in height.
After the dissolution of the monastery in 1803 the church became a parish church and in 1979 the church was elevated to the dignity of a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II.


Emir Fakhr ad-Din granted the Franciscans permission to return to Nazareth and the church ruins in 1620, at which time they constructed a small structure to enclose the holy grotto that is venerated as the house of Mary.
In 1730, Dahir al-Umar permitted construction of a new church, which became a central gathering place for Nazareth Latin community. The church was enlarged in 1877.


Under Canon Law, the church enjoys the status of a minor basilica. A historically significant site, considered sacred within some circles of Christianity, particularly Catholicism, the basilica attracts many Catholic, Anglican, and Eastern Orthodox Christian visitors every year.


As of November 2018, Catholic Masses are given in the Grotto, Upper Basilica, and adjacent St. Joseph's Church in the Arabic and Italian languages, according to the main church sign in English.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Assumption, Aglona_1

In 1697, Landlady Eve Justīne Šostovicka called the then bishop of Livonia, Nicholas Paplavskis, and in 1688 arrived from Vilnius a Dominican monastery priors father, Remigijs Mosokovskis and Aglona chose to place sacral buildings. In 1699 Dominicans founded a monastery where in 1670 they first built a wooden church. On 10 September 1751 was consecrated a wooden church during the third visit of the Livonian Bishop of Aglona, Joseph Dominic Puzinas. Church Dominicans placed Our Lady, which was painted by Trakai Virgin icon sample.
When the original church was destroyed by fire, instead of the 1768 to 1780 year built brick monastery buildings and the current church. The interior of the church was the result of the 18th-19th century, but the pulpit, organ and confessional - the end of 18th century.
Basilica of the Assumption of Aglona was built in the late Baroque style, and it is decorated with two 60-meter-high (200 ft) towers. Inside, there are cross vaults, arches, columns and it is decorated with rococo ornaments. Every year on the 15th of August, pilgrims come to celebrate the Virgin Mary's Assumption day. The Church kept the painting, sculpture and art values, including the icon of "Our Lady of Aglona's Miracle". It is believed that the painting has a healing ability. From 2011 to 2013 diocesan bishop John Bulis coordinated a Basilica's restoration work. It had pitch roofing, sheet metal cover being replaced with copper and renovation works from Basilica and convent. The basilica was carried out in a complete change of wall color, retaining the Baroque and Rococo styles, but changing the colors and patterns on the walls. The altar's large columns and cornices evolved from blue-green marble imitation of the little pink reddish, thus the whole altar become much "warmer". In contrast, the rest of the wall painting in the Basilica of the pitch line of decorative elements are pale yellow and pink colors of marble imitation celadon. All Basilica's decorative paint is a lot more marble imitation than it was before. It lost a few pictures of the saints and Christian symbols such as the dove (as a symbol of the Holy Spirit), the Lamb of God symbol, etc.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross_2

The construction of a new Late Gothic church began in 1444. The reconstruction of the church was mainly financed by local noble family of Zápoľský. Some of the outer walls of the original church were preserved during the rebuilding. Reconstruction enlarged the basilica to the south and the east. The reconstruction started with the presbytery and then continued with the nave. The presbytery was mainly finished thanks to contributions from Zapolsky family, as demonstrated by the coats of arms carved above the main portal. The entrance portal was also added to the presbytery in 1486 and the main - south portal of the church was placed in 1498. This year is dated as the completion of Late Gothic reconstruction.


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In the second half of the nineteenth century, the interest in heritage preservation increased. It was based on the romantic tendencies (purism - purity of styles). All Renaissance and Baroque altars were replaced with new Neo-Gothic altars. Using the same principle, those gothic parts of architecture that the renovators considered imperfect were also modified. The renovation of the interior in the Neo-Gothic style started in 1868, so instead of Baroque style altars were built new  Neo-Gothic altars, which included parts of preserved original Gothic altars. The Main altar of the Holy Cross was also restored. After removing the original polychromatic paintings both the architectonical and sculptural decoration were newly coated with polychromatic paint. During the renovations several paintings as well as sculptures were painted incorrectly, therefore their historical value is no longer obvious. In 1978 renovations of the church recommenced. The tower and its decorations were restored. Walls of the church were insulated against humidity and the entire surroundings of the church were modified. In years 1993-1994 the church got a new interior paving as well as a floor heating system. The walls were also newly painted. At the same time several sculptures were renovated, for instance the sculpture of archangel Michael. On 14 September 1998 the church was declared by Pope John Paul II as a Basilica Minor.


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In the south wall of the central nave is located a Late Gothic entrance hall which is irregular net-vaulted. Therein it is then mounted a doubleaxies main portal with an irregular rosette window and with statues of Christ, the Virgin Mary and St. John from 1498, together with the commemorative description „crux nos sancta tuere 1498“. The northern side of the church leads to a similar, but simpler portal with the entrance hall from the 16th century.
The tower of the basilica is dated back to the 13th century. In the ground floor are the remains of a portal which originally led to the main nave of the church. Furthermore, there are stone remains of ribs in the corners. In the last floors the Late Gothic walled sound holes have been preserved. The outer facade of the tower is split with two ledges. Along the perimeter of the church are two-stage supporting pillars with a shed roof.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Fourteen Holy Helpers_1

The Basilica overlooks the river Main in Franconia. It sits on a hillside, and on the hillside opposite is Schloss Banz, a former Baroque abbey.  Together they are known as the Goldene Pforte or golden portal, an entryway to the historic Franconian towns of Coburg, Kronach, Kulmbach and Bayreuth.


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The central scene of the unobstructed and towering high altar is a larger-than-life painting showing the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The statues depict her spouse Joseph, her father Joachim, and David and Zachariah.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Holy Trinity (Fátima)_1

In 1953, the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima (Portuguese: Basílica de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima) was consecrated.
Situated on the southeast corner of the church, a statue of Pope Pius XII (sculpted in white marble by Portuguese sculptor Domingos Soares Branco) was first revealed to the public, in a ceremony that included a formal blessing. A statue of Pope Paul VI was erected in May 1968 (created by Portuguese sculptor Joaquim Correia) on the northwest corner of the church.
During the 1973 liturgical year, there were reports that the site could not handle the number of pilgrims on days of relatively minor volumes at the basilica. The inauguration of a restored statue of D. José Alves Correia da Silva (by Joaquim Correia), first bishop of the Diocese of Leiria, on 2 February 1973 proved to be chaotic and crowded.
In 1974 the rector of the sanctuary, Monsignor Luciano Guerra, proposed a pastoral program to include construction of a new large, covered assembly area, in order to handle the pilgrims. But, it was not until 1996 that construction of a new church at the complex was proposed. In the meantime, new religious symbols and reliquaries were added to the sanctuary, including a silver ostensorium by sculptor Zulmiro de Carvalho, in the main chapel of the Blessed Sacrament (Portuguese: Capela do Santíssimo Sacramento).
In 1997, the sanctuary organized an international design competition for proposals for the new church: the international jury selected the design of Greek architect Alexandros Tombazis on 19 December 1998. The work on the new church began in February 2004, with the cornerstone installed on 6 June of the same year. The first stone, laid by Serafim Ferreira e Silva, retired bishop of the Diocese of Leiria-Fátima, was blessed and donated by Pope John Paul II on 9 March 2004. It came from a marble fragment of Apostle Peter's tomb, located under the basilica in Rome. The placing of the cornerstone was a symbolic act, as the marble stone was later placed on display within the finished church for visiting pilgrims.
The church was dedicated on 12 October 2007, in the company of Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, Secretary-of-State for the Vatican and then-legate to Pope Benedict XVI, as part of the closing ceremonies dedicated to 90th anniversary of the Marian apparitions of Fátima.
On 2 June 2008 was the inauguration of the 14 stations of the Via Lucis, executed by Italian artist Vanni Rinaldi. At the same time, a 3-metre (9.8 ft) image of Nossa Senhora de Fátima in Carrara marble was executed by Italian sculptor Benedetto Pietrogrande and installed in the interior of the church. From 2008 several artistic projects were carried out by various international contributors. Large 500-square-metre (5,400 sq ft) gilded terracotta panels in the presbytery were painted by a group of artists specializing in liturgical art. They came from eight nations and four Christian churches, based in the Pontifical Oriental Institute in Rome. The work was created and supervised by Slovenian artist Marko Ivan Rupnik.
On the walls of the confessional, azulejo panels, representing the episodes in the life of saints Peter and Paul, by architect Álvaro Siza Vieira, were mounted. A statute of Pope John Paul II by Polish sculptor Czeslaw Dzwigaj, was installed on the grounds in 2008 to the northeast of the church. A weathered steel cross, located in the church interior, approximately 34 metres (112 ft) high and 17 metres (56 ft) wide, was mounted at that time by German sculptor Robert Schad. A suspended sculpture by Cypriot artist Maria Loizidou was placed in the entrance portico, while the execution of the 8-metre (26 ft) doors in bronze, and panels from the Rosary, by Portuguese artist Pedro Calapez, were also completed; and 8-metre (26 ft) lateral doors in bronze, dedicated to the twelve apostles of Christ, with text by Portuguese artist Francisco Providência, were installed. Meanwhile, stained glass panels with Bible verses in six languages were installed by Canadian artist Kerry Joe Kelly, and a bronze crucifix, suspended over the main altar, was made by Irish artist Catherine Green.
On 19 June 2012, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments sent word that the church would be elevated to the status of minor basilica, which came into effect on 13 August 2012.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Jacksonville)_1

The congregation was established in about 1845 as a mission of the Catholic parish of Savannah in Georgia, and the first church building was constructed by 1847. Immaculate Conception was designated its own parish in 1854, but the original building was destroyed by Union forces during the American Civil War. A second building was planned shortly after Jacksonville became part of the newly created Catholic Diocese of St. Augustine in 1870, and was completed in 1874. This was destroyed along with most of downtown Jacksonville in the Great Fire of 1901.
The current building was designed in 1905 by architect M. H. Hubbard, also the designer of Bethel Baptist Institutional Church. Construction began in 1907 and completed on December 8, 1910, when the building was dedicated. The structure is an example of Late Gothic Revival architecture, considered one of the best such examples in Florida, featuring a cruciform floor plan, pointed arches, tracery on the windows, buttresses and pinnacles, high spires, and a high vault on the interior. The building's 178.5-foot (54.4 m) steeple, topped by a gold-plated cross, was the highest point in the city for three years until the Heard National Bank Building was finished in 1913.
In 1979, the church received solemn dedication, meaning the structure cannot be demolished willfully or converted to another purpose besides a church. On December 30, 1992, it was listed in the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Beginning in 2005 the church sought designation as a minor basilica from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments due to its history. The request was renewed in 2013 by Bishop Felipe de Jesús Estévez and granted; the designation was announced on August 15, 2013.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Nativity of Mary, Senglea_2

The main attraction of the basilica, a wooden statue of Mary, known as Il-Bambina, was carved in 1618, painted in 1631 and gilded. The sculptor of this statue is still unknown. After the coronation of the statue of Mary in 1921, the church became a sanctuary. The crown contains diamonds and other precious stones. Around the statue are four silver angels created in 1934. In 1956 another existing marble statue, which was consecrated in 1956 was erected. There are four busts of Pope Benedict XV, Archbishop Mauro Caruana, the symbol of Senglea and the Grand Master La Sengle. The columns show 16 saints who are connected with Maria: Four Evangelists, four popes, four Doctors of the Church and the four founders of Christian orders. Furthermore, the church houses seven bells.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Omni-mediatress of All Glories_3

Since the time of the beatifications of Fr. Maximilian Kolbe (1971), many important guests visited Niepokalanów and the local basilica. There were bishops, cardinals and high rank politic officials among them. Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, Primate of Poland, who visited Niepokalanów several times, said once: "Before the war Niepokalanów grew far and wide. After the war the hard times came, and then the Franciscans, unable to keep up their common job, did the wisest thing they could - they built a church."
On 18 June 1983, during the 2nd Pastoral Visit in Poland, Pope John Paul II visited the basilica and the monastery in Niepokalanów. In the basilica he met the representatives of religious orders to which he gave a speech. Then, during the Holy Mass at the field altar he preached a sermon to over 300,000 people. The visit of the pope increased the number of pilgrims coming to Niepokalanów. Many people wanted to visit the place, sacred by activity of St. Maximilian, and to pray in the local basilica.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Brussels_0

The National Basilica of the Sacred Heart (French: Basilique Nationale du Sacré-Cœur, Dutch: Nationale Basiliek van het Heilig-Hart) is a Roman Catholic Minor Basilica and parish church in Brussels, Belgium. The church is dedicated to the Sacred Heart, inspired by the Basilique du Sacré-Coeur in Paris. Symbolically, King Leopold II laid the first stone of the basilica in 1905 during the celebrations of the 75th anniversary of Belgian Independence. The construction was halted by the two World Wars and finished only in 1970. Belonging to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Mechelen–Brussels, it is one of the largest churches by area in the world.
Located at the head of Elisabeth Park atop the Koekelberg hill, between the municipalities of Koekelberg and Ganshoren, the church is popularly known as the Koekelberg Basilica (French: Basilique de Koekelberg, Dutch: Basiliek van Koekelberg). The massive Art Deco design brick and reinforced concrete structure features two thinner towers and a nearly as high green copper dome that rises 89 metres (292 ft) above ground, dominating Brussels' north-western skyline. On a clear day, the basilica can be recognised with the naked eye from dozens of kilometers away outside Brussels.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame)_3

The University's needs soon outgrew the small first church and in spring of 1869 the leaders decided to build a new church dedicated to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, despite the lack of funds in the school's treasury.
Popular architect Patrick Keely drew the first plans which envisioned a baroque plan similar to the Church of the Gesu in Rome. Because of the limited budget, the church at Notre Dame was not to be as large or as elaborate as the Roman edifice, but rather the size of the church of the same name  in Montreal. The original plan featured a cruciform church two hundred feet in length with three naves and a transept, a dome over the crossing, two large bell-towers, and a capacity of 2,000. The estimated cost would be around $100,000.

Fr. Sorin decided that these plans were too grandiose, and that the church could not cost more than half that sum, since at the moment they had only about $8,000 dollars at hand. In January 1870, a new architect, Mr. T. Brady from St. Louis, drew new plans for the church. It is not sure who drew the definite plans, but it is likely that also Fr. Sorin,  Rev. Alexis Granger, C.S.C., and Irish-born Brother Charles Borromeo Harding, C.S.C., a hard-working, self-taught campus builder were part of the planning and building. The new church was erected in Gothic Revival architecture rather than baroque, reflecting Fr. Sorin's French taste and his will to build a remarkable and striking landmark. Work on the foundations for the new church began in the spring of 1870, and the cornerstone was laid on 31 May 1871, with six bishops present, including Cincinnati Archbishop John Purcell. The building took many years to finish and underwent many changes.  As soon as it was inhabitable, university leaders installed an organ and held functions and celebrations in the unfinished building. The first mass was held on August 15, 1875. In 1887, the Lady Chapel was added; the north end of the church, completed in 1875, was previously bricked off. Bishop Joseph Gregory Dwenger finally consecrated the new sanctuary on 15 August 1888, during the celebrations for the golden jubilee of the ordination of Edward Sorin. The steeple was completed in 1892.
When the new church was begun in 1870, Fr. Sorin decided to order glass windows from the Carmel du Mans Glassworks, owned by the Carmelite nuns, who had provided windows for the first church in 1863 and with whom Sorin had a long standing relationship. This was a large order, which amounted to more than 450 square meters of glass. Meanwhile the Carmel du Mans Glassworks had been suffering financial troubles, also in part due to the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. To keep the business solvent and the workers employed, the Carmelites replaced the windows of their own chapel in 1871, featuring Carmelite saints (these drawings would also be re-used in the windows sold to Notre Dame). In 1873, the Carmelite nuns sold the Glasswork business to Edouard Rathouis, glasswork importer and nephew of Mother Eléonore, mother prioress of the nuns. This sale occurred only a few months after the order for the Notre Dame windows had begun, hence only the first windows painted in 1874 were made by the Carmelites themselves.
To pay for the windows, due to the financial troubles Notre Dame was in given the Long Depression and the 1879 fire of the main building, sponsors were solicited. Major contributors to buy the windows were Alexis Coquillard and Sister M. Germaine of the Passion, CSC, who donated her inheritance of seventeen thousand francs for the chapel and sanctuary windows. Additionally, Notre Dame received a ten percent commission on all windows ordered due to Sorin's influence, who publicized the company in America. The Carmel du Mans Glassworks realized the potential publicity of a large order in America, and hence did a high-quality job and also signed all their windows with the company name, which they previously had not done. In 1880, Edouard Rathouis sold the Carmel du Mans Glasswork to Eugène Hucher. This is reflected in the signage of the windows, which read first “Carmel du Mans, E. Rathouis” (in the earlier works in the nave) and finally “Fabrique du Carmel du Mans, Hucher et Fils, Successors” (in the last windows in the Lady Chapel). The contract for the windows was negotiated by Sorin and signed by Auguste Lemonnier, CSC, who was president at the time.
In April 1899, the church was the site of the first wireless transmission in the United States. Professor Jerome Green and his assistants set out to replicate the wireless experiments conducted by Guglielmo Marconi. First they sent messages between different rooms of Science Hall (now LaFortune Hall), then they tried between Science Hall and Sorin Hall, and finally they successfully transmitted messages from the spire of the Sacred Heart Church to Saint Mary's College, several miles away. He then went on to replicate these experiments the following month in Chicago. Although these experiments were merely duplication of those of Marconi, they were the first radio transmissions in America.
The church was the location of the funeral of Knute Rockne, following his tragic and unexpected death in a plane crash in 1931. The funeral, celebrated by rev. Michael Mulcair, vice president of the university, and the eulogy was delivered by Charles Donnell, president. The church held 1,400, admitted by invitation only. An 5,000 additional mourners stood outside on the cold, awaiting the arrival of the funeral procession of more than 100 cars from the Rockne home. Speakers were placed outside the church those outside to hear the service. At 3 p.m. hour, the stores in South Bend and nearby Mishawaka shot down and trains on the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend railroads stopped for one minute. In the church, four black-and-white streamers were hung from the high ceiling above the main altar. The pallbearers were Marty Brill, Marchmont Schwartz, Tom Conley, Frank Carideo, Tommy Yarr, and Larry Mullins. More than 100,000 people lined the route of his funeral procession, and the funeral was broadcast live on network radio across the United States and in Europe as well as parts of South America and Asia. Representatives of the Columbia Broadcasting Company arranged the international broadcasts international, making it the most extensive broadcast of its kind in history. It broadcast the service to its network's 79 affiliates, with The New York Times describing it as "nation-wide", a concept  so new that it the hyphen. In addition to CBS, also WGN in Chicago and WSBT, a local station, also broadcast the services from the church.
In 1931, it underwent its first thorough renovation by designed by New York architect Wilfred E. Anthony. A new automatic clock was placed in the tower and the chimes were automated so that bells would strike on the quarter hour. Aditionally,  bars of some music were also automated to ring on occasion.
On October 25, 1936 the church was visited by Cardinal Secretary of State Eugenio Pacelli, future Pope Pius XII, on his stop at Notre Dame during his visit to the United States.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame)_4

Between the late 60s and early 70s, the church was renovated with the intention of bringing it in line with the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council. The high altar was retained, but moved back and an ornate wooden freestanding altar was placed at the crossing. The choir stalls were removed from the presbytery and moved to the Lady Chapel and the stations of the Cross painted by Gregori were put in storage. In 1969, the altar rail were removed and the pulpit was substituted with one at a shorter height. These changes, in line with the direction of the Council, were meant to remove barriers between the celebrant and the congregation.
The church again received a renovation 20 years later, executed by Conrad Schmitt Studios, during which some of the 1968 renovations were reverted, including the return of the Gregori stations of the Cross and a return of more ornate decoration. The conservation and restoration of the historic stained glass windows, created in Le Mans, France, was one of the studio's largest single projects, with 116 windows and over 1,200 panels of glass. On 17 January 1992, Pope John Paul II raised the Church of the Sacred Heart to the status of Minor basilica, which had been Sorin's desire since 1888. This designation is one factor in making it a popular destination for approximately 50,000 pilgrims and tourists who visit annually. From 1977 through 1997, Rev. Daniel R. Jenky, C.S.C., of the Diocese of Peoria, Illinois, served as rector of the basilica, before he became head of the religious community there and later Auxiliary Bishop and vicar general of The Dioceseof Fort Wayne–South Bend and later Bishop of the  Diocese of Peoria, Illinois. Under his tenure, the church was elevated to a basilica.
The Basilica was the site of the funeral of many members of the community, including that of Theodore Hesburgh and Regis Philbin.
On October 28, 2021, Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople visited the Basilica where he delivered an address on environmental stewardship and received an honorary degree. The Patriarch was accompanied by Archbishop Elpidophoros of America and the official delegation also included Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon, Metropolitan Iosif of Proikonissos, Metropolitan Ioustinos of Nea Krini and Kalamaria and the basilica hosted a concert by the Archdiocesan Byzantine choir of the Greek Orthodox Diocese of America. The Patriarch was originally scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Notre Dame in 2020, but had to cancel due to COVID-19.


WikiWeb_Basilica of the Sacred Heart (Notre Dame)_6

Plans for a memorial for Notre Dame's contributions to World War I began in 1919 shortly after the Armistice. Funds were collected by the Notre Dame Service Club and the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Notre Dame architects Francis Kervick and Vincent Fagan designed the work for a memorial door on the east transept of the basilica. The final design featured a door surmounted by a pointed arch and flanked by two buttresses, all in gothic style and yellow brick as the rest of the Basilica. Initially, the memorial was meant to commemorate all 2,500 Notre Dame affiliates who fought in the war, including future presidents Rev. Matthew J. Walsh and Rev. Charles L. O'Donnell who had served as military chaplains. However, later revisions to the plan reduced it to two plaques flanking the door and commemorating the 46 Notre Dame students, alumni, and faculty who died in combat. The door itself is in oak with iron hinges, and contains two stained glass windows displaying the Tudor Rose and the Poppy. The stone lintel topping the door is inscribed with the words “In Glory Everlasting”, while above the lintel a carved panel depicts two eagles supporting a shield with the old university seal (in use before 1930) and carrying in their claws a ribbon which the words “God, Country, Notre Dame.” Above the door, the words "Our Gallant Dead" are inscribed in the stone facade. Statues of Jean of Arc and St. Michael by Rev. John J. Bednar, CSC, were added to the niches in the buttresses above the door in 1944, during the a campus beautification project. President Rev. Matthew J. Walsh dedicated the World War I Memorial Door on Memorial Day 30 May 1924 with a military mass.


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The 116 stained glass windows consist of more than 1,200 individual panels and were designed and made by the Carmel du Mans Glassworks, owned first the Carmelite nuns in Le Mans, France and then by Eugène Hucher and associates. The 44 large windows depict 114 life-size scenes and 106 smaller scenes. They were installed beginning in 1873, over a period of 15 years. The subjects of the windows were carefully chosen by Fr. Sorin with a pedagogic purpose, and the choice and positioning of the depicted figures is intentional and highly symbolic. Following Northern French custom, windows are read left to right, first the lower panel and then the upper.
The church's window's iconographic program was chosen carefully by Sorin. The large size of the order and the number of windows enabled such artistic and pedagogic program to be cohesive and planned out. The windows in each part of the church hosts a different theme: those of the narthex focus the mercy of God (featuring Purgatory and the Last Judgement), those of the nave feature saints, those of the transept regard the Church, and those in the sanctuary feature the most important saints of the Church. The chapels windows have a distinct and secondary message from that of the main body of the church, and each chapel focuses on a specific message or devotion.
Each of the 16 windows in the nave and transepts depicts 4 saints for a total of 64 figures, and each window has a theme (for example 4 saints who were kings or 4 who were nuns). The fourth windows of the nave represent the Great Fathers: the window on the east side of the nave depicts the Eastern Church fathers: Basil of Caesarea, Gregory Nazianzus, Athanasius of Alexandria, John Chrysostom; the window on the west side represent the Western Church fathers: Augustine, Saint Jerome, Ambrose, Gregory the Great.
The window on the north side of the west transept depicts the Sacred Heart of Jesus that inspired the Basilica's name, while another on the south side shows Father Sorin presenting the building to God. The windows in the Lady Chapel depict stories for Christ's Life and each side chapel has its own theme that is depicted in its windows. The East and West transepts feature two large windows: the eastern window depicts the Pentecost, and its positioned towards the rising sun to symbolize rebirth, while the western transept depict the Dormition of Mary, and it is positioned towards the setting sun to symbolize the end of earthly life.