The Basilica of the National Shrine of Mary, Queen of the Universe is a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

located in Orlando, Florida at 8300 Vineland Avenue. It was built to service the large number of

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

tourists who visit the attractions in the

Greater Orlando The Orlando metropolitan area, commonly referred to as Greater Orlando, Metro Orlando, Central Florida as well as for U.S. Census purposes as the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, is a metropolitan area in the ...

area. While it is a 2,000-seat

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

of the

Diocese of Orlando The Diocese of Orlando ( la, Dioecesis Orlandensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Florida. It encompasses about spanning Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Marion, Lake, Volusia, Brevard, Polk, and S ...

and provides

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different eleme ...

for the faithful, it has also become a regional tourist attraction. In 2009, it was designated as the 63rd

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

in the United States. Since it is not a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

only the Sacraments of Reconciliation and the Holy Eucharist are celebrated. No weekly bulletins are distributed. The Shrine consists of the main church, the Rosary Garden, the Mother & Child Outdoor Chapel, the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the Shrine Museum, and a gift shop.

History

After the grand opening of

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Lake Buena Vista, Florida Lake Buena Vista () is a city in Orange County, Florida, United States. It is mostly known for being the mailing address for Walt Disney World—although almost all of the resort facilities, including all four theme parks, are physically located ...

, the Diocese of Orlando determined that the thousands of Catholics visiting from around the world needed a place to attend Mass. The Diocese arranged for Masses at several area hotels, and in the spring of 1975 Bishop Thomas Grady placed Father Fachtna Joseph Harte in charge of tourism ministry. With projections predicting over 30 million annual visitors to Greater Orlando in the 1970s, Fr. Harte and Bishop Grady worked to establish a permanent location. In 1979, property was purchased for a new facility, named under the patronage of

the Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother ...

. On December 8, 1984, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, enough funds had been raised to break ground for the first phase of construction. Within two years, the initial facility was completed and on November 23, 1986, the Feast of Christ the King, the first phase was blessed by Archbishop Pio Laghi, Papal Nuncio to the United States. Phase one included landscaping, a building to use as a church and offices, and a bell tower. On August 22, 1990, the Feast of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary, ground was broken for a main church that would seat as many as 2,000 people. “We want the shrine to be a temple, a sacred place to give glory to God and honor our mother, said Bishop Norbert Dorsey. “Above all we want it to be a spiritual home, a real hearth.” At long last, on January 31, 1993, the first Mass was celebrated in the new church. And on August 22, 1993, the church was dedicated. Archbishop Pio Laghi was once again present. Bishop Dorsey proclaimed “a day of great rejoicing” and asked God’s grace upon all who would be drawn to the Shrine. The use of the title "Mary, Queen of the Universe" is drawn from section 59 of ''

Lumen gentium ''Lumen gentium'', the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. This dogmatic constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on 21 November 1964, following approval by the assembled bisho ...

'', the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church issued in 1964 by the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions), each lasting between 8 and ...

, which stated: "Finally, the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all guilt of original sin, on the completion of her earthly sojourn, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen of the universe, that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and the conqueror of sin and death." This usage could reflect Orlando's connection to nearby Cape Canaveral, the liftoff point for America's crewed space program, as spaceflight was likely the inspiration for the term. Cape Canaveral is part of the Diocese of Orlando. In 2004, Archbishop Thomas Wenski petitioned the USCCB to ask for the Shrine to be elevated from a diocesan to a National Shrine. The petition was granted and “National” was added to the name. The

National Conference of Catholic Bishops The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is the episcopal conference of the Catholic Church in the United States. Founded in 1966 as the joint National Conference of Catholic Bishops (NCCB) and United States Catholic Conference (US ...

held their spring convocation here in 2008. On July 17, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI declared the Shrine a minor

because of its ministry to the estimated half million pilgrims and tourists.

Facts

* The fourteen aisle windows are entitled "The Magnificat Windows" * It also ministers to Catholic workers at

and

Universal Orlando Resort Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply Universal, formerly Universal Studios Escape, is an American theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operated by Universal Pa ...

. *It is the nearest Catholic church to Walt Disney World. * The Outdoor Chapel features a bronze sculpture of the Mother and Child by Jerzy Kenar * The Museum displays Church art from around the world * The Shrine contains an sculpture featuring Mary and Baby Jesus bearing the same name "Mary, Queen of the Universe" sculpted by Jill Burkee of white marble from Carrara, Italy. * In 2015, Bishop John Noonan designated the central door as a

Holy Door A Holy Door ( la, Porta Sancta) is traditionally an entrance portal located within the Papal major basilicas in Rome. The doors are normally sealed by mortar and cement from the inside so that they cannot be opened. They are ceremoniously ope ...

as part of the celebration of the

Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy The Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy ( la, Iubilaeum Extraordinarium Misericordiae) was a Catholic period of prayer held from 8 December 2015, the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, to 20 November 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. Like pre ...

, and opened it on December 13.

Rectors of the Basilica

* Msgr. F. Joseph Harte, 1975 - 2007 * Fr. Edward McCarthy, 2007-2011 * Fr. Paul Henry, 2011 - 2020 * Fr. Robert Webster, 2020 - 2022 * Fr. Anthony Aarons, 2022-

Gallery

File:Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe - Orlando 01.jpg, Main facade File:Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe - Orlando 03.jpg, Bell tower File:Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe - interior 01.jpg, The nave File:Maryquenoftheuniverseshrinenativity.JPG, The

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

Nativity File:Maryqueenoftheuniverseshrinemaryofguadalupe.JPG, A

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

File:Marystatueatmaryqueenoftheuniverseshrinechurch.JPG, A statue of the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

and

Baby Jesus The Christ Child, also known as Divine Infant, Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, the Divine Child, Child Jesus, the Holy Child, Santo Niño, and to some as Señor Noemi refers to Jesus Christ from his nativity to age 12. The four canonical gospels, a ...

File:Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe - interior 03.jpg, The

Crucifix A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...

above the high altar

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica of Mary, Queen of the Universe Mary, Queen of the Universe, Basilica of Shrines to the Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Diocese of Orlando Roman Catholic national shrines in the United States Churches in Orlando, Florida Tourist attractions in Orlando, Florida 1979 establishments in Florida 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States