Basilicas in Central Mexico

I blogged about the following basilicas on February 1, 2020.

• Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Guadalajara.
• Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Light in Leon.

Old Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XIV in 1754—the first in Mexico.

Our Blessed Mother appeared four times to a native Mexican, Juan Diego, in December 1531, and once to his uncle.  Our Blessed Mother identified herself and spoke to Juan Diego in his native language.  She appeared as a young, pregnant, Mexican woman.  She told Juan Diego that she wanted a church built on the site of the apparition.  To prove this to the local bishop, Our Lady told Juan Diego to gather flowers from the site, which was at the top of a hill.  Normally the hilltop was barren in December, but Juan Diego found some Castilian roses, which are not native to Mexico.  Our Lady arranged the flowers in Juan Diego’s cloak and when he opened the cloak in front of the bishop, an image of Our Lady as she had appeared to Juan Diego, was left on the cloak.  As further proof, Juan Diego’s uncle, who was dying, was cured after Our Lady appeared to him.  The Old Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe was built between the time of the apparition and 1709.  This building, which still stands, became unstable and has been replaced by a new church.  See the following.

Pictures are from Wikipedia and Fineartamerica.

National Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mexico City, Mexico

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1976.

 The current Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe was built between 1974 and 1976.  The Basilica has a circular floorplan so the image of Our Lady can be seen from anywhere in the church, which can hold up to 50,000 people.  There are more than 20 chapels, and the seven front doors allude to the seven gates of the Celestial Jerusalem.  The Basilica is the most-visited Catholic shrine in the world, and the world's third most-visited sacred site according to one source. 

The first two pictures are from Wikipedia and the third is from Expedia.

Basilica of St. Philip Neri, Guadalajara, Jalisco

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius VII in 1804—the second in Mexico.

The baroque Basilica was built in the mid-1700s.  The façade and tower are considered to be among the best in Mexico.

The first picture is from the Archdiocesan website and the other two are from Flickr.

Basilica of Our Lady of Zapopan, Zapopan, Jalisco

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1939.

Construction of the Spanish Baroque Basilica began in 1689.  The Basilica honors the Virgin Mary in the form of a wooden statue thought to be of medieval origin.  It was brought to Mexico from Spain in the 16th Century and Our Lady is credited with bringing about the conversion of the local people to Christianity and for helping them gain independence from Spain.

The first two pictures are from Wikipedia, the third is from Expedia, the fourth from a tourist site.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa, Talpa de Allende, Jalisco

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1946.

The Basilica was built in the 1750s to house the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary which arrived in Talpa in 1585.  The statue, which is near the main altar, is adorned with gold and precious stones.

From Wikipedia.

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos, San Juan de los Lagos, Jalisco

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1947.

The Cathedral Basilica serves as the cathedral for the Diocese of San Juan de los Lagos.  It receives the second-highest number of pilgrims each year, behind only the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.  The Cathedral Basilica was built in the mid-18th Century.  In the 16th Century, a Franciscan priest had an image of Our Lady made by a local craftsman.  The image is made of corn cane and hardened with vegetable glues.  Shortly before Christmas 1623, a young girl died in San Juan de los Lagos while her family was journeying to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.  The distraught family brought the girl’s body to the image of Our Lady, prayed for her, and she came back to life.

Pictures are from Pinterest and Wikipedia.

Collegiate Basilica of Our Lady of Guanajuato, Guanajuato, Guanajuato

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1957.

The Basilica was built between 1671 and 1696 with major contributions from the local mining industry.  The wooden statue of Our Lady and the Child Jesus has a silver embossed base.  It was donated by King Charles I of Spain and his son Philip II to the town of Guanajuato in 1557 in recognition of its mining prosperity.  There are two towers—a three-level bell tower and a Churrigueresque style tower. Part of the church is dedicated to St. Nicholas Tolentine, the patron saint of miners.

The first picture is from a local website, the second from Pinterest, and the last from a tourist website.

Basilica of St. Joseph and the Sacred Heart, Mexico City, Mexico

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

The Basilica was built in a neoclassical style between 1772 and 1792 to serve a neighborhood of native Mexicans.  The church was essentially rebuilt between 1858 and 1861 after suffering damage from an earthquake.  It was severely damaged by an earthquake again in 2017 but remains open.

The first picture is from Wikipedia and the other two are from Flickr.

Basilica of Our Lady of Remedies, Naucalpan, Mexico

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

The 11-inch statue of Our Lady of Remedies was sculpted in Spain in the 14th Century and is thought to be the oldest statue of the Virgin Mary in the New World.  The statue was brought to Mexico by the Spanish conquerors.  The statue is now housed in the Basilica, which was completed in 1575, and employs the Churrigueresque Baroque style of architecture.  

Both pictures are from Flickr.

Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Pachuca, Hidalgo

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 2004.

The Basilica dates to a small chapel built in 1596 to honor Our Lady of Guadalupe.  Today’s neoclassical Basilica was built in the 1950s and covers over 16,000 square feet.  There are twin towers.  

The first two pictures are from Wikipedia and the last two are from Flickr.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Sorrows, Colon, Queretaro

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

A statue of Our Lady of Sorrows was brought to the area by Franciscan missionaries in the 1500s, but the chapel containing the image was burned to the ground by hostile natives.  Two centuries later, other Franciscans were sorting through the remains of the chapel and found the statue, still intact.  The current Basilica was built between 1880 and 1912 in a neoclassical style.

Both pictures are from Wikipedia.