The Pontifical Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary of Pompei ( it, Pontificio Santuario della Beata Vergine del Santo Rosario di Pompei) 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 ...

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

, Marian pontifical shrine and

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 ...

commissioned by

Bartolo Longo Bartolo Longo (February 10, 1841 – October 5, 1926) was an Italian lawyer who has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church. He was a former Satanic priest who returned to the Catholic faith and became a third order Dominican, dedicating h ...

, located in Pompei, Italy. It is the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of the

Territorial Prelature of Pompei The Territorial Prelature of Pompei also called the Territorial Prelature of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Most Holy Rosary ( la, Praelatura Territorialis Pompeianus seu Beatissimae Virginis Mariae a SS.mo Rosario) is a Roman Catholic territori ...

History

started restoring a church in disrepair in October 1873 and promoted a festival in honor of

Our Lady of the Rosary Our Lady of the Rosary, also known as Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, is a Marian title. The Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, formerly known as Feast of Our Lady of Victory and Feast of the Holy Rosary is celebrated on 7 October in the General Roma ...

.Frisk, M. Jean. "Our Lady of Pompeii", Marian Library, University of Dayton
/ref> In 1875, Longo obtained a painting of Our Lady of the Rosary from a convent in Naples and raised funds to restore the image so as to locate it in the church. Miracles began to be reported and pilgrims began flocking in droves to the church. Three hundred people of the area pledged a penny a month for the work. Bartolo Longo was encouraged by Giuseppe Formisano, Bishop of Nola, to begin the construction of a larger church—the cornerstone being laid on the 8 May 1876. The church was consecrated on the 7 May 1891 by Cardinal

Raffaele Monaco La Valletta Raffaele Monaco La Valletta S.T.D. J.U.D. (23 February 1827 – 14 July 1896) was a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church who served as Secretary of the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office. Education Raffaele Monaco La Vallet ...

, representing

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

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 sovereign ...

presented his sixth

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 ...

to the shrine on the 19 October 2008.

Our Lady of the Rosary

The painting of ''"Our Lady of the Rosary"'' with its bronze gilt frame is presented to the pilgrims on the high altar. The venerated painting depicts the Virgin Mary and Child Jesus presenting

rosaries The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...

Saint Dominic Saint Dominic ( es, Santo Domingo; 8 August 1170 – 6 August 1221), also known as Dominic de Guzmán (), was a Castilian Catholic priest, mystic, the founder of the Dominican Order and is the patron saint of astronomers and natural scientis ...

and Saint

Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

. Originally bought by Dominican priest Alberto Radente for eight carlini in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, it was offered to Bartolo Longo on the 13 November 1875 for the church he was building in Pompei. An attempt was made by an amateur to restore it, and it was placed in the church on 13 February 1876, the foundation day for the Confraternity of the Holy Rosary there. In 1880 the famous Italian painter, Federico Madlarelli, offered to restore the image. It was again finally restored by Vatican artists in 1965.

composed the "Novena of Petition" in July 1879, testing it by himself while he suffered from typhoid fever. The text was inspired by a daily vision of a miraculous portrait of ''Our Lady of the Rosary'', to which the Novena was first dedicated in Pompei. The full Prayer consists in a daily pronunciation of at least three decades (three Holy Misteries) of the Rosary each day followed by the Novena. It takes 54 days of time, without interruption.

Architecture

The original building built between 1876 and 1891 and designed by Antonio Cua followed a Latin cross plan. It was only . The construction of the façade, work of Giovanni Rispoli, started on the 15 May 1893. The facade culminates with the statue of the Virgin of the Rosary (, ), work of Gaetano Chiaromonte, carved from a single block 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 ...

, beneath which are placed the word "PAX" and the year "MCMI" (1901). To accommodate the increasing numbers of pilgrims, the sanctuary was expanded between 1934 and 1939 from one to three aisles, keeping its Latin cross plan. The project was ordered by Prelate Antonio Anastasio Rossi and designed by the architect-priest Monsignor Spirito Maria Chiapetta. Each new aisle has three altars on each side. The new building with its can accommodate up to 6,000 people. The bell tower built between 1912 and 1925 was designed by

Aristide Leonori Aristide Leonori (28 July 1856 – 30 July 1928) was an Italian architect and engineer. He worked mostly on religious buildings in Italy, the United States, and Africa, in a variety of styles. Biography Born in Rome, the eldest of twelve childr ...

, assisted by his brother Pio Leonori.

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

Shrine of Our Lady of Pompeii website
* * (EN) (C

{{Authority control Basilica churches in Campania Roman Catholic cathedrals in Italy Pompei Shrines to the Virgin Mary Roman Catholic churches completed in 1901 Order of the Holy Sepulchre 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Italy