Basilicas in Brazil—Minas Gerais—1

I blogged about the following basilica on September 1, 2021.

• Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, Mariana.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Diamantina

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.

The neo-Gothic church was built between 1885 and 1890.

From the diocesan website and TripAdvisor.

Basilica of Our Lady of Health, Pocos de Caldas

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1948.

The current church was built between 1937 and 1947 as the parish’s third church.  The Gothic and Romanesque church has an image of Our Lady donated by a Portuguese tourist who had bathed in the city’s healthful waters.

From the diocesan website and a local source.

Basilica of the Good Lord Jesus, Congonhas

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1957.

The church was built in the 18th Century on a bluff.  It employs both Baroque and Rococo styles.  A statue of Jesus is similar to one in Portugal.  The statue in Portugal is thought to have been created by Nicodemus from the New Testament who actually knew Jesus.  

Pictures are from, in order, Alamy, a local source, UNESCO, and Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes, Belo Horizonte

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1958.

The church was completed in 1923 in a Neo-Gothic style.  The Basilica has three images of Our Lady of Lourdes.

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

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Sao Joao del Rei

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

The Basilica is the cathedral for the Diocese of Sao Joao del Rei.  The Baroque church was built in the early 18th Century.  It contains many pieces of colonial Brazilian art including paintings and statues.

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

Basilica of St. Joseph the Worker, Barbacena

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1965.

The modern church was built in the 1950s in the shape of a Greek cross.

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

Basilica of St. Gerard Majella, Curvelo

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1966.

The church was built between 1912 and 1919 by Dutch Redemptorist missionaries.  It was built to honor a Redemptorist saint who had been canonized in 1904.  The church is said to be the only basilica in the world dedicated to St. Gerard.

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

Basilica of Our Lady of the Conception, Conceicao do Rio Verde

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1974.

A church was built here in 1748, but I have no information on the current church.

The top picture is from the diocesan website and the last two are from TripAdvisor.

Basilica of St. John Vianney, Belo Horizonte

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1986.

From Wikipedia.

Basilicas in India—Other

Basilica of Bom (Good Infant) Jesus, Old Goa, Goa

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1946.

The Basilica is the burial site of St. Francis Xavier and is a World Heritage Site.  It was built by the Portuguese between 1594 and 1605 in a Portuguese Baroque style and was the first church in India to be declared a minor basilica.  The Jesuit church has marble floors inlaid with precious stones but is otherwise decorated in a simple style.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Mount, Mumbai, Maharashtra

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

Jesuits built a church on this site in the 16th Century, but the present church was completed in 1904.  There is a week-long festival every September to honor Our Blessed Mother and to ask for her intercession.

 The first three pictures are from Wikipedia and the last is from a local source.

Basilica of Our Lady of Graces, Sardhana, Uttar Pradesh

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII in 1961.

The church was built in the early 19th Century by a woman who had converted to Catholicism from Islam and who had become the local ruler of this area.  It was designed by an Italian who modeled it at least in part after St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City.  The church is the largest in North India and employs a great deal of marble and semi-precious stones.

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

Basilica of St. Mary, Bengaluru, Karnataka

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1973.

Churches have been on this site since the 17th Century beginning with a thatched hut.  The current Gothic Basilica was built between 1856 and 1882.  Half a million people attend an annual festival to celebrate Our Blessed Mother’s birthday in September.

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

Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Rosary, Bandel, West Bengal

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1988.

A church was built here by the Portuguese in 1599 but it was destroyed by the Moors in 1632.  The current church dates to 1661.

The top picture is from Catholicshrinebasilica.com and the others are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Divine Motherhood of Our Lady, Ulhatu, Jharkhand

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

A Jesuit priest from Belgium came to this area in 1885 and within seven years increased the number of Catholics from 56 to 80,000 thanks in part to his work in bringing better living conditions to the people.  Various churches were built in this area and the current church was built in 1995.

From a local source.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, Secunderabad, Telangana

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2008.

The Gothic Indian church was built between 1840 and 1850 to serve Irish soldiers in the British army.  It served as cathedral for the diocese until 1886.

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

Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Puducherry, Pondicherry

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2011.

The Gothic Revival brick church was built between 1902 and 1907.  It contains stained glass panels depicting events from the life of Christ and saints of the Church.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Lawrence, Attur-Karkala, Karnataka

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2016.

The church community here dates to the 18th Century and the current Gothic church was completed in 1901.  Many miracles have been attributed to St. Lawrence’s intercession.

All pictures are from local sources except the last which is from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of Health, Harihar, Karnataka

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2019.

Pilgrims have come here to honor Our Lady since the 18th Century and miracles have been reported.  The current church was built in 1992. 

The top picture is from Catholicbasilicashrine.com and the bottom one is from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Anthony, Dornahalli, Karnataka

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2019.

A farmer unearthed a statue of St. Anthony of Padua in the early 19th Century and built a small chapel to house the statue.  Larger churches followed including the current one built in 1969.

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