The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe 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 let ...
parish church and
national shrine of
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
located at
Europa Point
Europa Point (Spanish and Llanito: Punta de Europa or Punta Europa), is the southernmost point of Gibraltar (the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula being Punta de Tarifa 25 km southwest of Gibraltar). At the end of the Rock of Gibral ...
. The church is dedicated to
Our Lady of Europe, the Catholic
patroness
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
of Gibraltar.
It belongs to the
European Marian Network, which links twenty
Marian
Marian may refer to:
People
* Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia
* Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name
* Marian (surname), a list of people so named
Places
* Marian, Iran (disambiguation)
* Marian, Queenslan ...
sanctuaries in Europe (as many as the number of decades in the
Rosary).
History
The Spanish period
At the beginning of the 14th century, during the Moor period of the town, a small
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
was erected in
Europa Point
Europa Point (Spanish and Llanito: Punta de Europa or Punta Europa), is the southernmost point of Gibraltar (the southernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula being Punta de Tarifa 25 km southwest of Gibraltar). At the end of the Rock of Gibral ...
. It is known that during the first Spanish period (1309–1333) the mosque was turned into a
Christian shrine.
On 20 August 1462, on
St. Bernard of Clairvaux's feast day, the
Spaniards
Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex history, including a number of different languages, both in ...
recaptured Gibraltar from the
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinct or ...
. They converted again the little mosque at Europa Point into a Christian shrine in honour of
Our Lady as Patroness of
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
( es, Ermita de la Virgen de Europa), with devout intention of consecrating to God, through Mary, the whole continent, from a place of prayer and worship at its southernmost point.
They built a large
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 ...
at right angles to the mosque's east wall and the whole area became the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe. A statue of the Virgin and Child was installed in this shrine in the 15th century. The statue was quite small, only two feet in height, carved in wood and polychromed in royal red, blue and gold. The Virgin was seated in a simple chair, with the Child Jesus on her lap. Both were crowned and the Virgin held in her right hand a
sceptre
A sceptre is a staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty.
Antiquity
Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia
The '' Was'' and other ...
with three flowers denoting Love, Truth and Justice. The shrine prospered in fame and popularity, for well over two centuries. Ships passing through the
Strait of Gibraltar saluted Our Lady as they passed Europa Point and mariners often came ashore with gifts to the shrine. Provisions were made by them for a constant supply of oil so that a light could be kept burning not only in front of the image but also in the tower. Therefore, the light kept burning in the tower above the chapel was the Gibraltar's first
lighthouse.
In the 16th century, the
Mediterranean coasts of Spain were the target of the
Barbary pirate
The Barbary pirates, or Barbary corsairs or Ottoman corsairs, were Muslim pirates and privateers who operated from North Africa, based primarily in the ports of Salé, Rabat, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli. This area was known in Europe ...
s. In 1545, Gibraltar was attacked and
looted
Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
by a lieutenant of
Barbarossa
Barbarossa, a name meaning "red beard" in Italian, primarily refers to:
* Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190), Holy Roman Emperor
* Hayreddin Barbarossa (c. 1478–1546), Ottoman admiral
* Operation Barbarossa, the Axis invasion of the Soviet Un ...
, Hali Hamat.
The shrine was sacked and all its valuables were stolen, but the statue of the Virgin and Child was respected. The shrine recovered and was protected by new walls, erected by
Philip II Philip II may refer to:
* Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC)
* Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor
* Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374)
* Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404)
* Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497)
* Philip ...
. New notable gifts were received, such as a silver lamp, given in 1568 by
Giovanni Andrea Doria
Giovanni Andrea Doria, also known as Gianandrea Doria, (1539–1606), was an Italian admiral from Genoa.
Biography
Doria was born to a noble family of the Republic of Genoa. He was the son of Giannettino Doria, of the Doria family, who died wh ...
, son of the great
Genoese admiral
Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime.
As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Re ...
, and two massive silver lamps presented by
John of Austria, upon his victory at the
Battle of Lepanto (1571)
The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independen ...
.
The British period
![Our Lady Gibraltar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Our_Lady_Gibraltar.jpg)
After the French bombing in 1693,
the next attack to the shrine took place in August 1704 as the city was
captured by a mainly Anglo-Dutch fleet on behalf of the pretender to the
Spanish crown, the
Archduke Charles
Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...
.
As the bombardment of the city began, most of the women and children of Gibraltar were evacuated to the shrine led by several priests. Part of the troops of Captain
Edward Whitaker, who had landed at
Rosia Bay, headed to the shrine and captured the women. They also looted:
Some women had been killed in a gunfight before the soldiers took the shrine, but did not suffer from further molestation when the shrine was sacked. The head of the statue of the Virgin and the child Jesus were broken off. Once broken, the remains were thrown out into the strait landing among the rocks below. However, as the statue was wooden, the remains floated out into the
Bay of Gibraltar
The Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeciras), is a bay at the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula. It is around long by wide, covering an area of some , with a depth of up to in the centre of the bay. It opens to the south into the Strait ...
where they were found by a fisherman, who later delivered them to
Juan Romero de Figueroa, the priest in charge at the parish of
St. Mary the Crowned. Romero de Figueroa remained in the city even when the majority of the population left Gibraltar after the capture of the city and eventually took the statue's remains to
Algeciras
Algeciras ( , ) is a municipality of Spain belonging to the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. Located in the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, near the Strait of Gibraltar, it is the largest city on the Bay of Gibraltar ( es, Bahía de Algeci ...
for safekeeping,
one of the places where the former Spanish inhabitants of Gibraltar had settled down. The statue was hosted in a small chapel dedicated to
St. Bernard, which was later renamed to the
Chapel of Our Lady of Europe.
At the time of the capture of Gibraltar by the Anglo-Dutch fleet, the shrine, as all other Catholic places of worship in Gibraltar except for the
Church of St. Mary the Crowned (now Gibraltar's Roman Catholic cathedral), was desecrated and ceased to be used, but taken over for military use. It also suffered heavy damage during the
Great Siege of Gibraltar and subsequently demolished with a new one rebuilt on the same site in subsequent years.
In the early 1860s, the
Vicar Apostolic
A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...
of Gibraltar,
John Baptist Scandella
John Baptist Scandella STD (Gibraltar, 19 September 1821 - id., 27 August 1880) was a Gibraltarian Roman Catholic priest of Genoese descent. He was Vicar Apostolic of the Diocese of Gibraltar between 1857 and 1880. He spoke fluent English and hi ...
, petitioned for the return of the original statue from Algeciras. It was eventually returned to Gibraltar in 1864.
As the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe remained in military hands, the statue was provisionally placed in a new chapel erected along
Engineer Road.
The new chapel included a
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
altar
An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...
donated afterwards by
Pope
The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...
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 ...
. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the statue was returned to the cathedral for safekeeping.
After the War, the statue was once more relocated, this time to St. Joseph's Parish Church, the closest church to Europa Point.
The building erected at the place of the old Shrine of Our Lady of Europe remained property of the
Ministry of Defence until 1961. It had been an army storehouse for oil and packing cases. Since 1928 it had been used as a
library
A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
for the garrison, but with the outbreak of World War II, it was returned to a storage facility.
By 1959, the military authorities, which had begun to withdraw many military installations in Gibraltar, noted that it was no longer required and decided to demolish it. However, this never happened and due to the efforts of Bishop
John Healy it was ceded to the
Diocese
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...
on 17 October 1961, in a private ceremony. Restoration works began in 1962. For the first time in 258 years, a mass was celebrated at the Shrine on 28 September 1962. The statue was finally transferred in public procession from St. Joseph's Parish Church to the Shrine on 7 October 1967.
In the early 1970s, the building underwent changes. The statue of Our Lady remains in the Shrine to this day. in 1997, the sanctuary was rebuilt, and the statue restored.
Recent years
Papal approval
In 1979
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 ...
officially approved the title of Our Lady of Europe as Patroness of Gibraltar, and subsequently the shrine was restored.
Jubilee
Upon the 700th anniversary of the devotion to Our Lady of Europe, the shrine received the
Golden Rose
The Golden Rose is a gold ornament, which popes of the Catholic Church have traditionally blessed annually. It is occasionally conferred as a token of reverence or affection. Recipients have included churches and sanctuaries, royalty, military ...
, a rare gift given by the
Pope Benedict XVI
Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...
in May 2009.
See also
*
Roman Catholicism in Gibraltar
*
Roman Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gibraltar is a diocese of the Latin Church of the Roman Catholic Church in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. The Latin name for the diocese is ''Dioecesis Gibraltariensis''. About twenty priests and nine ...
*
Shrine of Our Lady of Africa
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
*
Further reading
*
External links
Lady of Europe at the Gibraltar government siteOur Lady of Europe's official websiteVatican press publishes 'Our Lady of Europe' Book 5 May 2009.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shrine Of Our Lady Of Europe
14th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United Kingdom
Roman Catholic churches in Gibraltar
Shrines to the Virgin Mary
Our Lady of Europe
Former mosques in Gibraltar
Conversion of non-Christian religious buildings and structures into churches
1462 establishments in Europe
Religious organizations established in the 1460s
Roman Catholic national shrines