The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida is a prominent Roman Catholic Latin-rite Basilica located in Aparecida, Brazil. It is dedicated to Our Lady Aparecida, as the principal Patroness of Brazil. Its official title in Portuguese is Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida, roughly translated as Our Lady of Conception Who Appeared. Since 2011, it has become the greatest Marian pilgrimage center in the world, ranking above Our Lady of Guadalupe and Our Lady of Lourdes.
The old basilica is a modest church in the colonial style built between 1834 to 1888. It replaced a small chapel originally constructed in 1745. Pope Saint Pius X granted it minor basilica status in 1908. The shrine is also called Our Lady of Nazareth by other local Christians.
In 1955, Benedito Calixto began the construction on the new basilica. The structure is in the Romanesque style and takes the form of a Greek Cross with arms 188 m in length and 183 m in width. The dome is 70 m high and the tower reaches a height of 102 m. The basilica contains 18,000 m2 of space that can accommodate 45,000 worshipers. During celebrations on the feast day of the patroness, up to 70,000 can be accommodated in ancillary areas. The grounds contain a shopping mall, medical clinic and restaurants and a 272,000 m2 parking lot that can hold 4,000 buses and 6,000 cars.
On July 4, 1980, Pope John Paul II consecrated the sanctuary under the name Our Lady of Aparecida while the building was still under construction. The feast day for Our Lady of Aparecida is October 12.
Pope Benedict XVI visited the Basilica of the Shrine of Aparecida on May 12, 2007, during his Apostolic Journey to Brazil on the occasion of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. During his visit, the Pope awarded the Shrine a Golden Rose.
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