The Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception is a Colombian Catholic basilica located in
Jardín
Jardín ( en, Garden), often mistakingly referred to as El Jardín, is a town and municipality in the southwest region of Antioquia, Colombia. It is bounded by the Andes, Jericó, and Támesis municipalities to the north and the Caldas depart ...
,
Antioquia, within the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Jericó
The Diocese of Jericó ( la, Dioecesis Iericoënsis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Western Colombia. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolitan Archdiocese of Med ...
. It is a
Neo-Gothic
Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...
temple that lacks a
rib vault and occupies an area of 1.680m², built entirely from hand carved stone quarried in the foothills of the town.
History
The basilica was first erected as a vice parish in 1872 and was started by Father San Juan Nepomuceno Barrera.
He allegedly asked that sinners bring stones from the nearby quarry equal in weight to the weight of their sins for its construction. It became a parish in 1881, but the construction of the present church did not begin until March 20, 1918. It was completed in 1940 with José Angel Botero as the director. It would be the same Botero who modified the original plans, drawn by
Giovanni Buscaglione, a Salesian architect and priest from
Piedmont
it, Piemontese
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. While the building was still under construction, it was opened in 1932, still lacking the towers and part of the facade.
In 1979, the city experienced an earthquake that affected not only the church but also El Libertador park nearby, located in front of the temple. The park had to be rebuilt almost completely, also, in the case of the church, it was necessary to repair several doors and build two emergency exits; reforms that were exploited to improve the sound amplification system.
On June 3, 2003, the church was elevated to the rank of minor basilica, becoming the twenty-fourth Colombian church in obtaining such a title.
Architecture
The basilica has 128 windows and skylights and two
Hamburg
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Hamburgian(s)
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er bells. The statue of San Juan Bautista, the holy water font, the tabernacle, and the pulpit are made out of
Carrara marble
Carrara marble, Luna marble to the Romans, is a type of white or blue-grey marble popular for use in sculpture and building decor. It has been quarried since Roman times in the mountains just outside the city of Carrara in the province of Massa ...
. Its interior is painted turquoise.
Its two towers and crosses are made of aluminum.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Jardin)
National Monuments of Colombia
Basilica churches in Colombia