Mount Carmel Shrine, formally the Minor Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel ( fil, Basilika Minor ng Pambansang Dambana ng Mahal na Birhen ng Bundok ng Carmelo), is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

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 ...

and national shrine located in Barangay Mariana,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; fil, Lungsod Quezon ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read in Filipino as Kyusi), is the List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a populatio ...

Metro Manila Metropolitan Manila (often shortened as Metro Manila; fil, Kalakhang Maynila), officially the National Capital Region (NCR; fil, link=no, Pambansang Punong Rehiyon), is the capital region, seat of government and one of three List of metrop ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. Dedicated to

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Our Lady of Mount Carmel, or Virgin of Carmel, is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order, particularly within the Catholic Church. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Ca ...

, the church opened in 1964 after a decade of construction. It was declared a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in 1975 and a national shrine in 2015. In 2019, it was declared a

, making it the fifteenth minor basilica in the country. The church celebrates its liturgical feast every July 16. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cubao under the Vicariate of the Holy Family.

History

Early devotion and missionaries

The devotion of the Filipinos to

started in the 1600s when the

Augustinian Recollects The Order of Augustinian Recollects (OAR) is a mendicant Catholic religious order of friars and nuns. It is a reformist offshoot from the Augustinian hermit friars and follows the same Rule of St. Augustine. History The Order was founded in 16t ...

received an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel from the

Carmelites , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

(present-day

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

). In 1923, a group of four Carmelite

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s arrived in the Philippines, and they set up a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in Jaro,

Iloilo City Iloilo City, officially the City of Iloilo ( hil, Siyudad/Dakbanwa sang Iloilo; fil, Lungsod ng Iloilo), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines on the island of Panay. It is the capital city of t ...

. The Carmelite fathers followed in 1947, focusing their missionary work in a part of

Quezon province Quezon, officially the Province of Quezon ( tl, Lalawigan ng Quezon), is a province in the Philippines located in the Calabarzon region on Luzon. Kalilayan was the first known name of the province. It was later renamed Tayabas. In honor of the ...

(present-day

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

). In 1952, during a meeting with Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop

Egidio Vagnozzi Egidio Vagnozzi (26 February 1906 – 26 December 1980) was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as the second president of the Prefecture for the Economic Affairs of the Holy See from 1968 until his death, and was elevated to ...

and the Prior General of the Carmelite Order, the former asked for more Carmelites to be sent to the country to establish a monastery and church in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

. In response to Vagnozzi's request, a group of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

friars A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...

sent to the Philippines initially considered building at either Horseshoe Drive or

Gregorio Araneta Avenue Gregorio Araneta Avenue is a suburban arterial road in the Santa Mesa Heights area of Quezon City, northeastern Metro Manila, Philippines. It is a 6- to 8-lane divided avenue designated as part of Circumferential Road 3 (C-3) and physical contin ...

, both in

. However, in 1954, the Carmelites decided to build it at a lot along Broadway Avenue. The land where the basilica stands today was a

cogon ''Imperata cylindrica'' (commonly known as cogongrass or kunai grass ) is a species of perennial rhizomatous grass native to tropical and subtropical Asia, Micronesia, Melanesia, Australia, Africa, and southern Europe. It has also been introduce ...

field that was part of the original estate owned by Magdalena Hemady, the '' balae'' or in-law of then-senator

Claro M. Recto Claro Mayo Recto Jr. (born Claro Recto y Mayo; February 8, 1890 – October 2, 1960) was a Filipino politician, jurist, and poet. He is remembered for his nationalism, for "the impact of his patriotic convictions on modern political though ...

. During the 1950s, residents of New Manila would eagerly walk to attend

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 elementar ...

at the nearby Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao, which served as the parish church of New Manila. Other residents would also attend mass at the

Christ the King Mission Seminary The Divine Word Mission Seminary (also known as Christ the King Mission Seminary) is a Roman Catholic seminary in Quezon City, Philippines, run by the Divine Word Missionaries, more popularly known as the Society of the Divine Word (SVD). The s ...

along E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue or at the Carmelite Convent along Gilmore Avenue. But other residents would also walk or drive as far as the Santa Mesa Parish (now Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish) in

Santa Mesa Santa Mesa is a district in Manila, Philippines. It is surrounded by Pasig River on the southwestern side, and by the San Juan River on its southern and eastern side. Land borders include the districts of San Miguel to the west and Sampaloc t ...

, Manila or the

Santo Domingo Church Santo Domingo Church, formally known as the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary (Spanish: ''Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Santísimo Rosario''; Filipino: ''Pambansang Dambana ng Mahal na Birhen ng Santo Rosaryo''), is ...

further north.

Construction and opening

The cornerstone of the Mount Carmel Parish was blessed on December 30, 1954. It took a decade for the church to be completed, with the inauguration taking place on July 16, 1964, the

feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...

of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, with Cardinal-Archbishop of Manila

Rufino Santos Rufino Jiao Santos (August 26, 1908 – September 3, 1973) was the 29th Archbishop of Manila from February 10, 1953, until his death on September 3, 1973, and was the first Filipino elevated to the rank of cardinal. Biography Born in Barangay St ...

leading the inauguration. The church later became a popular location for

wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...

scenes in the movies. It also became a popular church for actual wedding ceremonies; this is attributed to the lower fees charged at the shrine compared to other churches and the long aisle walk favored by many

bride A bride is a woman who is about to be married or who is newlywed. When marrying, the bride's future spouse, (if male) is usually referred to as the ''bridegroom'' or just ''groom''. In Western culture, a bride may be attended by a maid, brides ...

s. On February 17, 1975, the church was established as 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 or m ...

by Cardinal-Archbishop of Manila

Jaime Sin Jaime Lachica Sin ( zh, t=辛海梅, 辛海棉, poj=Sin Hái-mûi, Sin Hái-mî; August 31, 1928 – June 21, 2005), commonly and formally known as Jaime Cardinal Sin, was the 30th Roman Catholic Archbishop of Manila and the third cardinal from ...

Contemporary

From 2015 to 2016, the altar was renovated. Its interior has also been coated with paint for the first time since it was built in 1954. On December 14, 2015, the parish was solemnly declared a national shrine. On February 20, 2017, the shrine was granted a special bond of spiritual affinity with the

Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, along with

plenary indulgence In the teaching of the Catholic Church, an indulgence (, from , 'permit') is "a way to reduce the amount of punishment one has to undergo for sins". The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' describes an indulgence as "a remission before God of ...

s for pilgrims in perpetuity. On November 30, 2018, the

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...

approved the petition from the Diocese of Cubao to elevate the shrine to a

; it was officially declared a basilica on March 25, 2019 (coinciding with the Solemnity of the Annunciation), making it the first church in the Diocese of Cubao to be granted such status.

Shrine details

Modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

style on a

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

(

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

) layout, the shrine is located on a lot along Broadway Avenue in between 4th and 5th Streets. Behind the church is the St. John of the Cross Seminary. Aside from the main altar, the church has two side altars: the

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

altar on the left and the

altar on the right. Since 2019, a medallion bearing the papal arms has been placed above the right side altar, as well at the main façade on top of the image of the

Blessed 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 Jews, Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Jose ...

– signifying its status as a

. It also has three

air-conditioned Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

mortuary

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

s with a capacity of 50 to 150 seats. The story of the life of the Virgin Mary is depicted in the

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows of the church, starting from her early life until her

Assumption Assumption, in Christianity, refers to the Assumption of Mary, a belief in the taking up of the Virgin Mary into heaven. Assumption may also refer to: Places * Assumption, Alberta, Canada * Assumption, Illinois, United States ** Assumption Town ...

. The shrine also contains a columbarium at its lower level.

Venerated Marian image

The venerated image of

is placed at the right side altar of the basilica. The ''de tallado'' image was designed and sculpted by Vicente Jr.'s father, Maximo Vicente, Sr. (1885–1964), who is hailed as a master

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

of religious images. He is also the founder of his shop of religious images, the Talleres de Maximo Vicente. The ''de tallado'' image depicts Mary with the

Child 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, ...

on her left arm and a scepter on her right hand. Both the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and the Child wear golden crowns, with the Madonna wearing the colors of the Carmelite order: brown, pale caramel, and white. A golden ring with stars serves as the

halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

of the Madonna. On February 20, 2017, the

venerated Veneration ( la, veneratio; el, τιμάω ), or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions. Etymo ...

image had its episcopal coronation (images that are crowned through a decree from the diocesan bishop or

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

). On May 13, 2020, the feast day of

Our Lady of Fátima Our Lady of Fátima ( pt, Nossa Senhora de Fátima, ); formally known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary of Fátima) is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus, based on the Marian apparitions reported in 1917 by three shepherd children at the Cov ...

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

approved the petition for its

canonical coronation A canonical coronation ( la, Coronatio Canonica) is a pious institutional act of the pope, duly expressed in a bull, in which the pope bestows the right to impose an ornamental crown, a diadem or an aureole to an image of Christ, Mary or Josep ...

, although the Diocese of Cubao announced it two months later, on July 9. The image was canonically crowned on August 15 (coinciding with the Feast of the Assumption of Mary).

Gallery

Mount Carmel Shrine facade 2023-05-07.jpg, Main façade Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Quezon City Philippines.jpg, Aerial view of the shrine File:Mount Carmel Shrine side windows 2023-05-07.jpg,

Stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows File:4535National Shrine and Parish of Our Lady of Mount Carmel 06.jpg,

side altar File:Mount Carmel Shrine high altar 2023-05-07.jpg, The high altar and

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

File:Mount Carmel Shrine right side altar 2023-05-07.jpg,

side altar

References

External links

* * {{Roman Catholic churches in Manila Roman Catholic national shrines in the Philippines

Roman Catholic churches completed in 1964 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the Philippines Churches in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cubao Roman Catholic churches in Quezon City Shrines to the Virgin Mary