The Basilica of Esquipulas or Cathedral Basilica of the Black Christ of Esquipulas (Spanish: Basílica de Esquipulas or Catedral Basílica del Cristo Negro de Esquipulas) is a Baroque church in the city of Esquipulas, Guatemala, named after the image of the Black Christ of Esquipulas which it houses. It is the largest Roman Catholic church in Central America and southern Mexico and the only one in America with four bell-towers. It has the status of cathedral, minor basilica and Catholic sanctuary.
The Basilica of Esquipulas.
History
The statue of the Black Christ (El Cristo Negro) was commissioned by Spanish conquistadors and carved in 1594 by Quirio Cataño in Antigua and installed in the church in 1595. The history of the Basilica begins in 1735, when a priest named Father Pedro Pardo de Figueroa experienced a miraculous cure after praying before the statue. When he became Archbishop of Guatemala, he commissioned a basilica to shelter the statue. The church was completed in 1759. It is visited by about 4.5 million pilgrims annually, including 1.5 million in the days leading up to its patronal festival on 15 January and the festival on 9 March which marks the date of the image's arrival in the city in 1595. On a visit in 1840, the anthropologist John Lloyd Stephens described the church as the town's "only object of interest".[1]
The church was promoted to cathedral status by pope Pius XII in 1956 as the seat of the new Territorial Prelature of Santo Cristo de Esquípulas, whose first prelate Mariano Rossell y Arellano (the senior archbishop of Guatemala) sought to set up a Benedictine monastery attached to the cathedral to care for it - this was founded in 1959 by three monks sent from St. Joseph Benedictine Abbey in Louisiana. He also successfully petitioned pope John XXIII to promote the church to minor basilica status in 1961. It was visited on 6 February 1996 by Pope John Paul II during his second Apostolic Visit to Guatemala to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the veneration of the Black Christ.
References
^"Esquipulas Basilica". Sacred Destinations. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
External links
"Sitio Oficial de la Basílica de Esquipulas". basilicadeesquipulas.info. Retrieved 2016-12-08.
cathedral, basilica, esquipulas, this, article, includes, list, references, related, reading, external, links, sources, remain, unclear, because, lacks, inline, citations, please, help, improve, this, article, introducing, more, precise, citations, december, 2. This article includes a list of references related reading or external links but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations December 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Basilica of Esquipulas or Cathedral Basilica of the Black Christ of Esquipulas Spanish Basilica de Esquipulas or Catedral Basilica del Cristo Negro de Esquipulas is a Baroque church in the city of Esquipulas Guatemala named after the image of the Black Christ of Esquipulas which it houses It is the largest Roman Catholic church in Central America and southern Mexico and the only one in America with four bell towers It has the status of cathedral minor basilica and Catholic sanctuary The Basilica of Esquipulas History EditThe statue of the Black Christ El Cristo Negro was commissioned by Spanish conquistadors and carved in 1594 by Quirio Catano in Antigua and installed in the church in 1595 The history of the Basilica begins in 1735 when a priest named Father Pedro Pardo de Figueroa experienced a miraculous cure after praying before the statue When he became Archbishop of Guatemala he commissioned a basilica to shelter the statue The church was completed in 1759 It is visited by about 4 5 million pilgrims annually including 1 5 million in the days leading up to its patronal festival on 15 January and the festival on 9 March which marks the date of the image s arrival in the city in 1595 On a visit in 1840 the anthropologist John Lloyd Stephens described the church as the town s only object of interest 1 The church was promoted to cathedral status by pope Pius XII in 1956 as the seat of the new Territorial Prelature of Santo Cristo de Esquipulas whose first prelate Mariano Rossell y Arellano the senior archbishop of Guatemala sought to set up a Benedictine monastery attached to the cathedral to care for it this was founded in 1959 by three monks sent from St Joseph Benedictine Abbey in Louisiana He also successfully petitioned pope John XXIII to promote the church to minor basilica status in 1961 It was visited on 6 February 1996 by Pope John Paul II during his second Apostolic Visit to Guatemala to mark the four hundredth anniversary of the veneration of the Black Christ References Edit Esquipulas Basilica Sacred Destinations Retrieved 9 December 2017 External links Edit Sitio Oficial de la Basilica de Esquipulas basilicadeesquipulas info Retrieved 2016 12 08 Coordinates 14 33 42 N 89 21 03 W 14 5618 N 89 3509 W 14 5618 89 3509 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Cathedral Basilica of Esquipulas amp oldid 1008944665, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
