Basilicas in Spain—Toledo and Merida-Badajoz

Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, Siguenza, Guadalajara, Castile-La Mancha

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1948.

The Cathedral Basilica was built primarily between the 12th and 14th Centuries, possibly on the site of an older cathedral, and is mostly Gothic in style although elements of other styles are present.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Royal Monastery of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Guadalupe, Caceres, Estremadura

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1955.

The monastery was established in the 14th Century and was given a royal designation the same century.  The monastery uses the Mozarabic liturgical rite rather than the Roman rite.  Columbus came here in 1492 to thank God for his discovery of the New World.  The basilica has paintings from Goya and El Greco.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Meadow, Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1967.

The Cathedral Basilica was built in the 15th Century to replace an earlier church.  It originally had Gothic and Romanesque features, but Renaissance and Baroque elements have been added.

Pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Meadow, Talavera de la Reina, Toledo, Castile-La Mancha

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1989.

The Mozarabic church was built in the 17th Century using Renaissance and Baroque styles.  It replaced an earlier church and the site originally had a temple to a Roman goddess.  The main altar was designed by El Greco’s son.  The church was badly damaged by the French in the early 1800s but has been restored.

Pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Eulalia, Merida, Badajoz, Extremadura

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2014.

The basilica is dedicated to a young local woman who was martyred in 4th Century.  A church was likely built here as early as the 4th Century, but the current church dates to the 13th Century.  It is primarily Romanesque with Gothic influence.  Baroque and Renaissance elements have also been added.  A crypt contains tombs from various periods dating to Roman times.

Pictures are from a local source and Alamy.

Basilica Shrine of Christ of the True Cross, Urda, Toledo, Castile-La Mancha

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2021.

The Mozarabic-rite Basilica was built in the 15th Century where an image of the crucified Christ was found.  Pilgrims have come to this Gothic and Renaissance church ever since the image was discovered.  

Pictures are from local sources.

 Basilicas in Poland—Katowice

Cathedral Basilica of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Opole, Opole

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1934.

The Basilica is the cathedral for the Diocese of Opole.  The church was built in the 15th Century to replace earlier churches dating to 1005.  It is mostly Gothic in design but does have some Baroque altars.  The church has a painting of Our Lady of Opole dating to around 1500.

The first picture is from a local source and the other two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Bartholomew the Apostle, Piekary Slaskie, Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1962.

A church was built here at least by 1303 and later contained the painting of Our Lady of Opole.  Miracles were soon attributed to Our Lady’s intercession and pilgrims started coming to the church.  The painting was moved to the Church of the Holy Cross in Opole in 1702 for safety reasons and remains there.  A reproduction of the painting was done for this church which again attracted pilgrims.  The current brick neo-Romanesque church was built in the first half of the 19th Century.  The town has a tradition of putting on a Passion play yearly.

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Louis the King and the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Katowice-Panewniki, Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1974.

This neo-Romanesque church was built in the first decade of the 20th Century as part of a Franciscan monastery.  Its nativity scene is the largest altar nativity in Europe.  About 80 Franciscans live there today.

From local sources.

St. Anne’s Basilica, Gora Swietej Anny, Opole

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1980.

The history of this church is somewhat vague.  Construction began in 1485 but wasn’t completed until sometime in the 17the Century.  The church is built on a hill and has an ancient statue of St. Anne holding the infant Mary.  The church was administered by the Franciscans but fell on hard times during Prussian rule in the 19th Century.  The Franciscans have since returned.

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Anthony of Padua, Rybnik, Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1993.

The Neo-Gothic church was constructed between 1903 and 1906.  It was almost completely destroyed during the Second World War.  Despite conflicts with Communist officials, the church was rebuilt by 1960.

From a local source.

Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Pszow, Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

The church was built between 1743 and 1747 and contains a painting depicting Our Lady of Pszow.  The painting likely dates to the early 18th Century.

All are from local sources.

Basilica of St. Adalbert, Mikolow, Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

The town has had a church since the 12th Century.  The current Neo-Romanesque church was built between 1843 and 1861. Construction was delayed due to poor construction and lack of financial resources.

From a local source.

Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Rudy, Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

The Cistercians built an abbey here in the 13th Century and built the current building as an abbey church around 1300.  This Gothic and Romanesque church was rebuilt in the 17th and 18th Centuries which added Baroque elements.  The Red Army destroyed the church in 1945.  Reconstruction and renovation of the brick and sandstone church continued until 2000.  The church has a 13th Century painting called “Our Lady of the Humble.”

The first two pictures are from the basilica website and the other two are from local sources.

Basilica of St. James the Apostle and St. Agnes, Nysa, Opole

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009.

This church was built in the 14th and 15th Centuries to replace a 12th Century church.  The original church was destroyed in 1241 by during the Tatar invasion.  The current church was built in the 15th Century but has changed styles when rebuilt due to war or fire.  Today, it is mostly neo-Gothic.  The bishops of Wroclaw lived in Nysa from 1650 to 1810 and frequently used this church as their cathedral, although it never had official cathedral status.

Pictures are from Alamy and Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Stephen and Our Lady of Bogucka, Katowice, Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2015.

The red-brick and stone neo-Gothic church was built in the 1890s.  A 15th Century statue on the main altar is dedicated to Our Lady of Bogucka.

From a local source.

Basilicas in Poland—Wroclaw

I blogged about the following basilica on March 6, 2020.

• Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist in Wroclaw.

Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Wambierzyce, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1935.

A 1218 miracle attributed to Our Lady’s intercession led to the building of a succession of churches.  The current church was built between 1712 and 1723.  It has been administered by the Franciscans since 2007.

From a local source and Wikipedia

Basilica of St. Hedwig of Silesia, Trzebnica, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1943.

This church is part of a monastery that dates to the 13th Century.  St. Hedwig is buried here.  The church was Romanesque, but the Chapel of St. Hedwig was Gothic—the first of that style in Poland.  Protestant expansion and fires in the 15th Century caused the monastery to decline.  After Catholics returned to this area in the 17th Century, the church was restored in a Baroque style.  In the early 18th Century, all 21 side altars were redone in a Rococo style.  The monastery once again declined in the late 18th Century after the area became part of Protestant Prussia.  The church was once again restored in the early 20th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Krzeszow, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

This church was built between 1728 and 1735 to be the church of a Cistercian abbey.  It is rococo in style and has several murals.  A Madonna and Child painting is thought to be the oldest Marian painting in Poland (early 13th Century).

The first two pictures are from local sources and the last two are from Wikipedia

Basilica of St. John the Apostle and Evangelist, Olesnica, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1998.

The brick church was completed around 1230 and today features Gothic, Renaissance, Mannerist, and Baroque architectural styles.  The church, soon after its construction, became the church of a prince’s castle—some of the princes are buried here.  The church was a Protestant church from 1538 to 1945 and was dedicated to St. John the Baptist.  Part of the church collapsed in 1905 and it was rebuilt and modernized by 1910.

All pictures are from Wikipedia

Basilica of St. Peter and Paul, Strzegom, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul II in 2002.

The Knights of St. John, established during the Crusades, built a church here in the 13th Century and replaced it with the current Gothic church that was mostly built between 1250 and 1390.  This church was constructed with broken granite, basalt, and sandstone.  The church was not completely finished until the early 16th Century. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Elizabeth, Wroclaw, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2003.

This Gothic church was built in the 14th Century but served as a Lutheran church from 1525 to 1946.  At that time, it was given to Poland’s Military Chaplaincy.  There is a monument to Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the grounds.  Bonhoeffer was a native of the city and a Lutheran pastor who was a critic of the Nazis.  The Nazis executed him in 1945.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. George the Martyr, Ziebice, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

Parts of this church date to the 13th Century.  Additions were made in later centuries.

From Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Bardo, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

The Baroque basilica was built between 1686 and 1704 overlooking the Nysa Klodzka River.  Since 2004 it has also been known as the Metropolitan Sanctuary of Our Lady Guardian of the Holy Faith.  It was built to house a statue known as the “Enthroned Madonna” which had attracted pilgrims.  The church is currently administered by the Redemptorists.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Erasmus and St. Pancras, Jelenia Gora, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010.

The first church at this site burned around 1303.  It was rebuilt in a Gothic style later that Century and again in the 15th and 16th Centuries.  Baroque elements were added to the Gothic and Renaissance mix in the 18th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Nicholas, Boleslawiec, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

A church has been here since the 13th Century.  The current stone Gothic church was originally constructed in the mid-15th Century, but several expansions have been made over time.  A 17th Century renovation resulted in a Baroque interior.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Hedwig of Silesia, Legnickie Pole, Lower Silesia

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2014.

The Baroque church was constructed between 1719 and 1729 for a Benedictine monastery.  It replaced an earlier monastery that had been taken over by the Protestants.  In 1810, Prussian authorities disbanded religious orders and the complex was turned over to the Prussian army.  It has since been restored and returned to the Catholic Church.

Pictures are from the basilica website, a local source, and Wikipedia.