The Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe, officially called
Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe (in English:
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe) is a sanctuary of the Catholic Church,
dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her invocation of Guadalupe, located at the
foot of the Hill of Tepeyac in the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City.
It is the most visited Marian precinct in the world, surpassed only by Saint
Peter's Basilica. Every year some twenty million pilgrims visit the sanctuary,
of which about nine million do so in the days around December 12, the day on
which Saint Mary of Guadalupe is celebrated. Annually, the Basilica of Santa
María de Guadalupe has at least twice as many visitors as the best-known
Marian shrines, making it an outstanding social and cultural phenomenon.
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Approaching the Basilica from the northwest.
The Basilica is 9.5km north of the Zócalo, the center of Mexico City.
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Crossing Calz. de los Misterios towards the entrance of the
Basilica.
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Approaching the northwest entrance to the Basilica.
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Approaching the candle votive stands.
They are located in the north of the Basilica.
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Candle votive stands.
The message reads: It's nothing that scares you and afflicts you. Don't
let your heart be troubled. Are you not perchance in my lap? (Spanish:
«Es nada lo que te asusta y te aflige. No se turbe tu corazón. ¿No
estas por ventura en mi regazo?»)
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This sentence was said by Our Lady of Guadalupe to San Juan Diego,
December 12, 1531.
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Candle votive stand.
The message reads: God save you, Mary, full of grace. (Spanish: «Dios te salve, María, llena eres de gracia.»)
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From Luke 1:28: «And he came to her and said, “Greetings, favored one!
The Lord is with you.”.»
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When the Angel Gabriel greets Mary, he proclaims her favor with God,
her state as being full of grace. He recognizes her as the one who was
immaculately conceived, having been redeemed by the merits of Jesus in
preparation of bearing him in her womb. In this first line, we
recognize her in this way as well.
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Candle votive stand.
The message reads: All the candles that are lit in the basilica are made
with the wax from the candles that are lit. (Spanish: «Todos los círios que estan prendidos en la basilica, estan elaborados
con la cera de las veladoras que se encienden.»)
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Capilla del Cerrito.
The Chapel of the Roses or Chapel of the Cerrito is a Catholic temple
located on top of the Tepeyac hill, in the Gustavo A. Madero mayor's
office. It was founded at the end of the 17th century1 in the place
where, according to tradition, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin cut and
collected roses at the indication of Our Lady of Guadalupe to show them
as proof of his apparitions to Bishop Fray Juan de Zumarraga.
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For many years, the place where the chapel currently stands was only
indicated by a wooden cross with a pile of stones as a pedestal.
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Around 1660 Don Cristóbal de Aguirre and his wife Teresa Peregrina had
a hermitage built on the site and at the beginning of the 18th
century, as the number of faithful who came to the place grew, the
priest Juan de Montúfar ordered the construction of the current temple
together with the southeast ramp to facilitate access to the site.
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Old Basilica of Guadalupe.
The temple known as the Old Basilica of Guadalupe was built by the
architect Pedro de Arrieta, beginning its construction in March 1695. On
May 1, 1709, it opened its doors, with a solemn novena.
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In 1749 it received the title of collegiate church, that is, without
being a cathedral, it had its own chapter and an abbot.
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Old Basilica of Guadalupe.
At the beginning of the 19th century, due to the construction of the
Capuchine Convent, the collegiate church suffered serious damage to
walls and vaults, for which it was necessary to restore the damage and
for this reason redecorate the sanctuary in Neoclassical style,
disappearing the Baroque.
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In the sanctuary, the reform began around 1804, concluding until 1836.
Between 1810 and 1822 the work was suspended due to the War of
Independence.
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The design was made by Agustín Paz and executed by the Neoclassicist
architect Manuel Tolsá.
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Portal of the Old Basilica of Guadalupe.
Its portal is freestanding and simulates a screen, the four octagonal
towers on its corners (crowned with mosaics or azulejos of the type
called Talavera yellow with blue border, the same as the dome of the
transept) have a meaning associated with the New Jerusalem, the Golden
Jerusalem, mentioned in the Apocalypse (Rev 21, 18).
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In 1904 the collegiate church is elevated to the rank of basilica.
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Portal of the Old Basilica of Guadalupe.
Bas-relief of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the pediment of the Old Basilica.
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New Basilica of Guadalupe.
The New Basilica of Guadalupe was built due to the need to house the
image of the Virgin of Guadalupe and allow access to a greater number of
pilgrims, as the old temple was unstable and dangerous.
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Its construction began in 1974. On October 12, 1976, when the work was
finished, the Guadalupe image was taken in procession to its new
sanctuary.
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Having a circular shape to symbolize the tent that housed the Ark of
the Covenant on its march through the desert, the building was built
with reinforced concrete for the roof structure, covered with green
oxidized copper sheets.
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New Basilica of Guadalupe.
It is the most visited Marian precinct in the world, surpassed only by
Saint Peter's Basilica. Although the figures cited are not uniform,
annually some twenty million pilgrims visit the sanctuary, of which
about nine million do so in the days around December.
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Every year some twenty million pilgrims visit the sanctuary, of which
about nine million do so in the days around December 12, the day on
which Saint Mary of Guadalupe is celebrated.
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Annually, the Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe has at least twice
as many visitors as the best-known Marian shrines, making it an
outstanding social and cultural phenomenon.
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Entering the New Basilica.
It has seven entrances to the front, above which there is an open chapel
with a certain reminiscence of the atriums of the 16th century, from
which mass can be celebrated for those present in the atrium.
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Entering the New Basilica.
To prevent the settling of the land that occurred in surrounding
buildings, this was built using 344 control piles.
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Entering the New Basilica.
As the interior is circular and self-supporting (without supporting
members to obstruct the view), the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe can
be seen from everywhere inside the basilica.
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Interior of the New Basilica.
The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is behind the altar, under a large
cross, on a wall with a finish similar to the ceiling.
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View from the left side of the interior of the New Basilica..
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Front view of the interior of the New Basilica.
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View of the organ inside the New Basilica.
The organ is Electro-pneumatic with 187 ranks, 10,558 pipes, 5 manuals
and 116 stops.
- The organ was manufactured by Casavant Frères Ltée in 1976.
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View from the right side of the interior of the New Basilica.
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Front view of the interior of the New Basilica.
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Altar of the New Basilica.
The image of the Virgin of Guadalupe is behind the altar, under a large
cross, on a wall with a finish similar to the ceiling.
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Santo Cristo del Atentado.
In times of the Cristero War a bomb exploded in the main altar, having
arrived hidden inside a flower arrangement.
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Around 10:30 in the morning it exploded causing damage to the steps of
the altar and some more damage to the stained glass windows.
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Nothing happened to the original ayate, only to a crucifix, which was
bent and which is said to have prevented something from happening to
the image of the Virgin, later causing the altar to be fixed by
placing the image one meter higher.
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Due to this event, the image was replaced by a faithful copy and kept
in the house of some devout people, and returned to its altar until
1929.
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Entrance to the walkway.
For better visibility of the image, a walkway was built under the altar
with conveyor belts.
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Entrance under the altar.
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The walkway under the altar.
For better visibility of the image, this walkway was built under the
altar with conveyor belts.
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The altar image of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
This is the original tilma of Juan Diego, which hangs above the
high altar of the Guadalupe Basilica.
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The suspended crown atop the image dates back to its Canonical
Coronation on October 12, 1895.
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The image is protected by bulletproof glass and low-oxygen atmosphere.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The venerated image of Our Lady of Guadalupe features a full-length
representation of a young woman with delicate features and straight,
dark hair in a centre parting.
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She stands facing the viewer's left, with her hands joined in prayer
and head slightly inclined down, gazing with heavy-lidded eyes at a
spot below and to her right (the left of the viewer).
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Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The portrait was executed on a natural fibre fabric support constituted
by two pieces (originally three) joined. The join is clearly visible as
a seam passing from top to bottom, with the Virgin's face and hands and
the head of the angel on the left piece, passing through the left wrist
of the Virgin. The fabric is mounted on a large metal sheet to which it
has been glued for some time.
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The image, currently set in a massive frame protected behind
bullet-proof glass, hangs inclined at a slight angle on the wall of
the basilica behind the altar.
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Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The figure stands on an upturned crescent moon, which was allegedly once
silver in colour, and is now relatively dark. A feathered cherubic angel
with outstretched arms carries the corners of her robe underneath her
exposed feet. A sunburst of straight and wavy gold rays are projected
behind her and around her and are enclosed within a mandorla.
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The present image shows the 1791 nitric acid spill on the top right
side, unaffecting the subject matter's aureola.
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See also
Source
Location
