Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

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Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe
Religion
Affiliation	Catholic Church (Roman Rite)
District	Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Minor basilica, National Shrine
Leadership	Enrique Glennie Graue[1]
Year consecrated	12 October 1976
Location
Location	Villa de Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico
Geographic coordinates	19°29′2.4″N 99°7′1.2″W / 19.484000°N 99.117000°W / 19.484000; -99.117000Coordinates: 19°29′2.4″N 99°7′1.2″W / 19.484000°N 99.117000°W / 19.484000; -99.117000
Architecture
Architect(s)
Type	Church
Specifications
Capacity	10,000
Height (max)	42 metres (138 ft)
Dome dia. (outer)	100 metres (330 ft)
Website
www.virgendeguadalupe.org.mx

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe (Spanish: Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe) is a Roman Catholic church, basilica, and National shrine of Mexico which houses the cloak containing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The 1709 shrine was built in the North of Mexico City near the hill of Tepeyac, where the Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. The basilica structure which now contains Juan Diego's cloak was completed in 1974.

This site is also known as La Villa de Guadalupe or, in a more popular sense, La Villa, and has several churches and related buildings.

One of the most important pilgrimage sites of Catholicism, the basilica and tilma (cloak) are visited by several million people every year, especially around 12 December, Our Lady of Guadalupe's Feast day.

History[]

Inauguration of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Manuel Arellano, c. 1709

Guadalupe Basilica postcard. University of Dayton Libraries

A nearby chapel was built on the sacred site devoted to a temple for Tonantzin Coatlaxopeuh, an important mother goddess, after the Spanish conquerors destroyed the temple.

Pilgrimages have been made to this shrine almost uninterrupted since 1531–1532. In the latter year, a shrine had been constructed at the foot of Tepeyac Hill, which served the people for ninety years. It was adapted as part of the parochial sacristy of the new basilica. In 1622 a rich shrine was erected; a newer one, much richer, in 1709. Other structures of the eighteenth century connected with it are a parish church, a convent and church for Capuchin nuns, a well chapel, and a hill chapel. About 1750 the shrine got the title of collegiate, and a canonry and choir service were established. In 1754 it was aggregated to the Basilica of St. John Lateran. In 1904 it was designated as a basilica.

Old basilica[]

Officially known as the "Templo Expiatorio a Cristo Rey," the first structure of the old basilica was begun in 1695 and it was not finished until 1709. The major architect was Pedro de Arrieta. It is characterized by its doric interior and marble statues of Fray Juan de Zumárraga, archbishop at the time it was started, and Juan Diego, the peasant who saw the vision of the Virgin Mary. These are featured in the altarpiece that originally held the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe. (That altarpiece matches a similar one in the older chapel higher on the hill, which features the archangels Gabriel and Michael). The church was granted basilica status by Pope Pius X in 1904.

The icon of Juan Diego's cloak was housed in this church from 1709 to 1974. In 1921 a bomb planted in a flower vase near the altar by an anticlerical terrorist exploded, causing great damage to the interior of the building. (In memory of this incident, the New Basilica displays an iron crucifix called "the attempt on Christ".) The cloak survived undamaged.

As much of Mexico City is built upon the dried lakebed of Lake Texcoco, the land was unstable and the old basilica was sinking. A new, more spacious basilica was built. The old one was closed for many years and repairs have recently finished. It is open to the public and perpetual adoration is held there.

Modern basilica[]

Thousands of faithful flock to the Mass to be celebrated at Our Lady of Guadalupe Basilica.

The roof of the modern basilica

The present church was constructed on the site of an earlier 16th-century church that was finished in 1709, the Old Basilica. When this basilica became dangerous due to the sinking of its foundations, a modern structure called the New Basilica was built next to it; the original image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is now housed in this New Basilica. Built between 1974 and 1976, the new Basilica has a circular floorplan so that the image of the Virgin can be seen from any point within the building. The circular structure is 100 meters (330 ft) in diameter and can accommodate up to 10,000 people. The choir is located between the altar and the churchgoers to indicate that it, too, is part of the group of the faithful. To the sides are the chapels of the Santisimo and of Saint Joseph. It has 9 chapels on the upper floor. Under the main floor are the Basilica's crypts, with 15,000 niches and 10 chapels. Its seven front doors are an allusion to the seven gates of Celestial Jerusalem referred to by Christ. In the Sanctuary grounds where the new Basilica is located there are also many other buildings, including the original chapel on the exact site of the apparitions to Juan Diego (Capilla del Cerrito) and the Old Basilica consecrated in 1709, as well as other chapels where Masses and other sacraments of the Church are celebrated daily.

Gallery[]

• 

  Rocío Dúrcal's crypt at Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

• 

  Old Sanctuary of the Virgin of Guadalupe

• 

  Interior view of old Basilica Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico

• 

  Modern Basilica

• 

  Pocito Chapel

• 

  The Capuchin Nuns' Temple

• 

  Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the New Basilica

• 

  Tilma and flag of Mexico

See also[]

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Notes[]

References[]

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, George (1913). "Shrine of Guadalupe" . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

External links[]

• (in Spanish) Interactive tour of the Basilica campus
• (in Spanish) Official website of the Basilica, Virgen de Guadalupe

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Tepeyac, Mexico City.