Basilicas in Portugal

I blogged about the following basilicas on August 9, 2020.

• The Patriarchal Cathedral Basilica of St. Mary the Great in Lisbon.
• The Cathedral Basilica of St. Mary in Braga.
• The Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption in Evora.

Estrela Basilica of the Sacred Heart, Lisbon, Lisbon

Has been considered a minor basilica since it was constructed.

The late Baroque and Neoclassical church was constructed between 1779 and 1790 under the orders of Queen Maria the First due to a vow she had made to God.  The church, thought to be the first dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, has an interior made with grey, pink, and yellow marble.  The church has a nativity scene with more than 500 figures made of cork and terra cotta.

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

Basilica of St. Anthony, Mafra, Lisbon

Has been considered a minor basilica since its construction.

The Basilica was built as part of a royal palace and a Franciscan convent.  The Baroque basilica was built in the early 1700s.  It has 58 large statues made of Carrara marble and carved in Italy, several paintings, and six pipe organs.

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

Basilica of Our Lady of the Martyrs, Lisbon, Lisbon

Has been considered a minor basilica for centuries.

The church was built initially in 1147 after Lisbon was taken back from the Moors.  This small church housed an image of Our Lady brought by English Crusaders.  The church’s dedication is to honor all the soldiers who died defending the Christian faith.  This initial church was replaced by a larger Baroque church which was destroyed by an earthquake in 1755.  The current Baroque and Neoclassical church was completed in 1784.  The church has an 18th Century nativity scene with 126 carved figures.

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

Basilica of St. Peter, Guimaraes, Braga

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XIV in 1751.

The Neoclassical church was built between 1737 and 1884.  It was desecrated by Napoleon’s troops and used as a stable.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Fatima, Santarem

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Fatima, Santarem

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

Both basilicas are part of a complex of buildings on the site of Our Lady’s appearance to three children in 1917.  Fatima is a major pilgrimage site.  

The Neo-Baroque Basilica of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary was built between 1928 and 1954 and has a bell tower that is over 200 feet in height.  The tower is has a bronze crown and is topped with an illuminated cross.

The first picture is from Dreamstime and the rest are from Wikipedia.

By the 1970s, it was apparent that the Basilica of Our Lady could not handle the large number of pilgrims coming to Fatima.  So the larger Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity was constructed in a modern style between 2004 and 2007.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady, Sameiro, Braga

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1964.

Pilgrims have come to this mountaintop location since 1863 to honor Our Blessed Mother.  A small chapel opened in 1873 and construction of the current church began in 1890.  It was completed in 1941.

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

Basilica of the Holy Christ, Outeiro, Braganca

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2014.

A statue of Christ is said to have sweated blood in 1698.  This occurred in a small chapel and the current Baroque church began construction later that year.  It opened in 1713 and was completed in 1739.

The first two pictures are from local sources and the third picture is from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Benedict, Rio Caldo, Braga

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2015.

A small chapel was built here in 1615.  The current Neo-Classical and Neo-Baroque church was built between 1880 and 1895.  Two and a half million pilgrims come here annually.

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

Basilica of the Good Jesus on the Mount, Braga, Braga

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2015.

A cross was erected here at the top of Mount Espinho in the 14th Century.  Pilgrims began to come and a series of chapels were built.  The current neoclassical church was built between 1784 and 1811.  The Basilica can be accessed by a funicular or by climbing several hundred stairs.

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

Basilica of St. Torquatus, Sao Torcato, Braga

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2019.

The eclectic-style church was constructed between 1825 and 2015.  It is dedicated to a First Century bishop. 

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

Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, Torre de Moncorvo, Braganca

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2022.

This Renaissance church was built between the 18th and 19th Centuries.  

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

Basilicas in Germany—Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland

Basilica of St. Matthias, Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Benedict XV in 1920.

The basilica is the abbey church for a Benedictine monastery established in the 10th Century.  It also contains the tomb of St. Matthias the Apostle.  The Romanesque church was consecrated in 1148.  The monastery was closed between 1802 and 1922.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Imperial Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1923.

The church was once the cathedral for the former Diocese of Worms.  A church has been on this site since the 7th Century.  A larger cathedral was built in the 11th Century—apparently poorly as it was soon torn down.  The current Gothic church was mostly completed by 1181 although additions were later made.  The Diet of Worms was held here in 1521 at which time the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, summoned Martin Luther to renounce his views.  Luther refused and was condemned as a heretic.  This area nevertheless became heavily Protestant and in the 1630s, occupying Swedish troops used the church for Protestant services.  The church later became Catholic again and renovations were made in the 1690s.  The French Revolution, which had spread to this area, once again impacted the church.  It fell into disrepair until 1886 when it was renovated.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption and St. Stephen, Speyer, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1925.

This is the Cathedral for the Diocese of Speyer and is one of three Romanesque Imperial cathedrals in Germany.  It is the largest Romanesque church in the world.  The church was initially completed in 1061 and enlarged by 1106.  The building burned completely in 1450 was rebuilt and burned again in 1689.  The church was once again rebuilt in the 1700s but was profaned by French Revolutionary troops and later by Napoleon’s army.  The church was restored between 1818 and 1822 and has been renovated since then.  At least three Holy Roman emperors are buried in the basilica. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady at the Lake, Maria Laach, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1926.

A Benedictine monastery was established in 1093 on the banks of Lake Laach.  The Romanesque abbey church dates to the 12th Century.  The monastery was closed by the government in 1802, but was reopened by the Jesuits in 1863.  The Benedictines returned in 1892.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, Streithausen-Marienstatt, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1927.

The church is the abbey church for a Cistercian monastery.  It was initially established in 1134 and moved to this location in 1222.  The Gothic church dates to 1227.  The abbey closed in 1803 but the church remained open for the local people.  The monastery reopened in 1888.  Today the monastery has a library, a brewery and restaurant, a book and art store, a guest house, and a secondary school.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.                                                                                                                    

Basilica of St. Martin, Bingen am Rhein, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1930.

A church may have existed here as early as the 5th Century and a monastery was established at least as early as the early 11th Century.  What is known is that the monastery’s Romanesque church (and much of the town) burned down in 1403.  The current Gothic church opened in 1416.  The monastery buildings were torn down in 1819 and the church was renovated.  Damage during the Second World War resulted in another renovation ending in 1958. 

The first picture is from Flickr and the others are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, Prum, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1950.

A Benedictine monastery was built here in 721.  The current red sandstone abbey church was built between 1721 and 1730.  The abbey closed in 1802.  The city of Prum and the church were badly damaged by American bombs during the Second World War.  Restoration of the Gothic church was completed in 1950 and additional restoration started in the late 1990s and continues.  A relic of Christ’s sandals was given to the church by Pepin III, King of the Franks.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of Our Lady of the Assumption, Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1951.

The basilica is adjacent to the Trier Cathedral and is thought to be one of the two oldest Gothic churches in Germany.  The church was built in a largely circular design between 1230 and 1260 and it replaced a 4th Century church.  A Madonna and Child statue dates to the 14th Century.  The church survived the French Revolution and Napoleon, but was heavily damaged during the Second World War.  It was restored between 1946 and 1951. 

The first picture is from Flickr and the others are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Paulinus, Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Pius XII in 1958.

The church is built on the site of a Roman cemetery.  According to legend, those buried here were members of the Theban Legion, a Roman legion executed because they had converted to Christianity.  A church was built here in the 4th Century and named after a 4th Century bishop of Trier.  This ancient church was replaced by a Romanesque church in the 12th Century.  This church was destroyed by the French in 1674 and replaced by the current Baroque church in the early 18th Century.  Much of the interior work is attributed to Balthasar Neumann.  The church survived French revolutionary occupation and Napoleon was said to have been impressed by the church’s beauty.  Portions of the pipe organ date to the mid-1700s.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Wendelin, Sankt Wendel, Saarland

Declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul XXIII in 1960.

The Gothic church was built in the 14th and 15th Centuries to replace an earlier (9th or 10th Century) church.  Both churches were dedicated to St. Wendelin, a 7th Century saint.

All pictures from from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. John the Baptist, Saarbrucken, Saarland

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Paul VI in 1975.

A church has been on this site since the 7th Century.  The current Baroque church was built in the mid-1700s.  The pulpit dates to 1764 and the rococo confessionals to 1789.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Castor, Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate

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

A Roman fort was established on this site during the reign of the Emperor Augustus.  A Roman temple was later built here and the first St. Castor Church was built in the 9th Century.  The current Romanesque church dates to the 12th Century, although work continued for many centuries thereafter.  A monastery was built here as well, but it closed during the French Revolution.  The church was heavily damaged during the Second World War but has been restored.

All pictures are from Wikipedia.

Basilica of St. Severus, Boppard, Rhineland-Palatinate

Declared a minor basilica by Pope Francis in 2014.

A church was built on this site in the 6th Century on the remains of a Roman bath.  This church burned in the 10th Century and was replaced by the current Rhenish Traditional church in 1236.  The church has a crucifix above the main altar which dates to 1230, a Madonna dating to 1260, pews dating to 1692, liturgical vessels dating to the 14th and 15th Centuries, and bells dating to the 13th Century. 

All pictures are from Wikipedia.