330px, Statue of the Virgin Mary on the top of Cerro San Cristóbal The Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception on San Cristóbal Hill is one of the principal places of worship for the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, as well as being an icon of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Chile. It is notable in particular for a large statue of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

, which is located at the summit of

San Cristóbal Hill San Cristóbal Hill (Spanish: , Mapuche: ) is a hill in northern Santiago, Chile. It rises 880 m AMSL and about 300 m above the rest of Santiago; the peak is the third highest point in the city, after Cerro Manquehue and Cerro Renca. Cerro San C ...

, some 863 meters above sea level.

Sanctuary and statue

The statue of the Immaculate Conception measures 14 meters tall, and the pedestal on which it rests, 8.3 meters. It weighs 36,610 kilograms.Photo Virgin on San Cristóbal Hill
www.iglesia.cl. In Spanish. On the pedestal there is a small chapel in which

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

prayed and blessed the city of Santiago on April 1, 1987. The statue is lit up at night by lights placed on its sides, allowing it to be viewed from all over Santiago both day and night. At the foot of the statue there is an amphitheater for holding masses or other religious ceremonies. Near the statue, there is also a small chapel for praying. The statue can be reached via the road joining the

Santiago Metropolitan Park The Santiago Metropolitan Park is an urban park located within the city of Santiago, capital of Chile. Consisting of the San Cristóbal, Chacarillas and Los Gemelos hills, and the areas of Tupahue, Lo Saldés, Pirámide and Bosque Santiago, the ...

, via the Funicular de Santiago or the Santiago Cable Car, which has its final station next to the sanctuary. The statue is currently in good condition, and was given a thorough clean and repaint in early 2012.

History

Before the arrival of the Spanish forces in Chile, the place where the shrine now stands was venerated by the indigenous population and known as ''Tupahue'', meaning "Place of God" in Mapundungun. Some time after the founding of Santiago, a 10-meter cross was placed on the hill's summit, where it remained until the end of the 19th century. Popes

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the A ...

and

Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...

both proclaimed that during 1904, the 50th anniversary of the dogma of the

would be celebrated. Answering this call to commemoration, the Archbishop of Santiago, Monsignor Mariano Casanova, asked the priest José Alejo Infante to coordinate a meeting of clergymen and lay people. It was at this meeting that Infante proposed and received approval for the construction of a Marian shrine.Santuario Cerro San Cristóbal website
In Spanish. Retrieved November 16, 2012. The statue is believed to be a reproduction of the "Virgin of Rome" and was designed by Luigi Poletti and is a work by Giuseppe Obici. The French foundry Val D'Osne was commissioned to construct the statue by then Chilean ambassador to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Enrique Salvador Sanfuentes. The statue cost 22,000 francs at the time. The land on which the sanctuary was built was donated by the communities of the Recoleta Dominica church and the Saint Teresa

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

of Santiago. The first stone was placed on December 8, 1904, and the shrine was officially inaugurated on April 26, 1908. In 1987 it was visited by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

.
Funicular, Santiago Metropolitan Park. In Spanish.

References

External links

Sanctuary of the Immaculate Conception website
(in Spanish). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sanctuary on San Cristobal Hill Catholic Church in Chile

Sanctuary and statue

History

See also

References

External links