Basilicas in Poland—Warmia

I blogged about the following basilica on February 28, 2020.

• The Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Andrew in Frombork.
• The Co-Cathedral Basilica of St. James in Olsztyn.

Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gietrzwald, Warmia-Masurian

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

The current church was initially completed in 1500 and has been renovated and expanded multiple times over the last 500 years.  A painting of Our Lady of Gietrzwald likely predates the current Gothic church.  Our Lady is said to have appeared to two young girls in 1877 in the town urging people to pray the rosary.

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

Basilica of the Visitation of the Mother of God, Sejny, Podlaskie

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1973.

The Dominicans built a church and monastery between 1610 and 1619 in a late Renaissance style.  In the 18th Century, the church was renovated in a Baroque style.  The Prussian government dissolved the monastery in 1804, but the church became a diocesan cathedral in 1818.  The church has a 15th Century Gothic Madonna in the shape of a triptych.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Unity, Swieta Lipka, Warmia-Masurian

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1983.

Pilgrims have come to this site since at least the 15th Century to honor the Mother of God.  The current Baroque church was built by the Jesuits between 1688 and 1754.  The main alter has a painting of Our Lady that dates to 1640. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Sanctuary of the Mother of Peace, Stoczek Klasztorny, Warmia-Masurian

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1987.

The local bishop had this church constructed between 1639 and 1641 in thanks for the end of a war with Sweden.  The Bernardine monks had a monastery here from 1714 to 1826.

All pictures are from local sources.

Basilica of the Most Holy Savior and All Saints, Dobre Miasto, Warmia-Masurian

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

This Gothic church was constructed between 1357 and 1389.  The church once had 15 altars, but renovations in the 19th Century left the church with 9 altars. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. George, Ketrzyn, Warmia-Masurian

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1999.

A Teutonic castle was built at this site around 1329, and the church was added in 1359.  The church was enlarged in the 15th Century and became a Lutheran church in about 1620.  The Communist government returned the church to the Catholics in 1946.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Augustow, Podlaskie

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2001.

This eclectic brick church was built between 1906 and 1911 but was destroyed in 1944.  It was rebuilt between 1947 and 1986.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Catherine, Braniewo, Warmia-Masurian

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2001.

A church was built here in the 14th Century but was rebuilt in a Neo-Gothic style in the mid-19th Century.  The German army mostly destroyed the church in 1945, and it was not rebuilt until 1981.

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilicas in Spain—Zaragoza and Pamplona y Tudela

Zaragoza 

I blogged about the following basilica on January 3, 2020.

• Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar in Zaragoza

Basilica of Our Lady, Badain, Huesca

Has been considered a minor basilica for centuries.

The church was originally part of a monastery for Benedictine nuns and was probably built in the 12th Century.  The Romanesque church was enlarged in the 16th Century, which is also when the tower was added.

Pictures are from Flickr, a local source, and Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Mary, Graus, Huesca

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius VII in 1810.

A Romanesque church was built on this site in the 12th Century.  It was replaced in the 16th Century by the current Gothic and Renaissance church which also included a pilgrims’ hospital.  The church was badly damaged in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War but has been restored.

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

Basilica of St. Lawrence, Huesca, Huesca

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1884.

There was a Romanesque church on this site which was converted to Gothic in the 14th Century.  This church was built using a Baroque style between 1608 and 1703.  Tradition has it that St. Lawrence’s parents once lived in this area. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Encratius, Zaragoza, Zaragoza

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1991.

A church dedicated to St. Engracia and other early Christian martyrs has been on this site since the 3rd or 4th Century.  A monastery was built here in the 16th Century but was destroyed by war in the early 19th Century.  Only the alabaster façade, carved between 1512 and 1515, was saved and used in the construction of the current Renaissance church built in the late 19th Century.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Collegiate Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre, Calatayud, Zaragoza

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2020.

This brick church was built between 1605 and 1613 in a Baroque style.  It replaced an earlier church.  It is the main church for the Order of the Holy Sepulcher in Spain.  It was built to resemble the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.

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

Pamplona y Tudela

Basilica of St. Francis Xavier, Javier, Navarra

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Leo XIII in 1901.

St. Francis Xavier was born on this site in 1506.  This church was constructed between 1897 and 1901 using Neo-Romanesque, Neo-Gothic, and Byzantine styles.  St. Francis was one of the founders of the Jesuits.

Pictures are from Flickr, a local source, and the last two are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Ignatius of Loyola, Loiola, Guipuzcoa

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XV in 1921.

The Jesuits began construction of a large complex of buildings in the late 1600s on the site of the birth (in 1491) of St. Ignatius of Loyola (one of the Order’s founders).  Work on the Baroque Basilica began in 1689 and continued until 1767.  The main altar is made of marble in a Churrigueresque style.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Mary, San Sebastian, Guipuzcoa

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1973.

The church is dedicated to the Virgin of the Choir and replaced a 13th Century building.  The current church was completed in 1774 using a Baroque style with elements of Gothic, Churrigueresque, Neoclassical, and Rococo.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.