The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro or Sanctuary of Sameiro () is a

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a saf ...

and

Marian shrine A shrine to the Virgin Mary (or Marian shrine) is a shrine marking an Marian apparitions, apparition or other miracle ascribed to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or a site on which is centered a historically strong Blessed Virgin Mary, Marian devotion ...

in Espinho, in the surroundings of the city of

Braga Braga ( , ; cel-x-proto, Bracara) is a city and a municipality, capital of the northwestern Portuguese district of Braga and of the historical and cultural Minho Province. Braga Municipality has a resident population of 193,333 inhabitants (in ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

History

Its construction was initiated in the 19th century, by Father Martinho da Silva, in neoclassical style. Artistically not have much interest except the silver tabernacle that we can see on the main altar and the image of the patron saint, held in Rome by the sculptor Eugénio Maccagnani and brought to the sanctuary in 1880. Construction was begun on 14 July 1863 on the domed church of Nossa Senhora do Sameiro (Our Lady of Sameiro). The founder of the shrine was the Vicar of Braga, Padre Antonio Martinho Pereira da Silva. The sanctuary is the largest Marian devotional shrine in Portugal, second only to the

Sanctuary of Fátima The Sanctuary of Fátima ( pt, Santuário de Fátima), officially titled Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fátima (''Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Rosário de Fátima''), is a Marian shrine dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima located in Fáti ...

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

granted the decree of

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 ...

towards the Marian image on 22 December 1876. The rite of coronation was executed on 12 June 1904 via Archbishop Giuseppe Macchi.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

visited the

on 15 May 1982. {{Churches in Braga Roman Catholic churches in Braga Basilica churches in Portugal Roman Catholic shrines in Portugal Church buildings with domes