Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary
Encyclopedia
Minor basilica
Minor basilica is a title given to some Roman Catholic churches. By canon law no Catholic church can be honoured with the title of basilica unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom....
and cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...
dedicated to the local Virgin of the Rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
, in the city of Rosario
Rosario
Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the western shore of the Paraná River and has 1,159,004 residents as of the ....
, province
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
of Santa Fe
Santa Fe Province
The Invincible Province of Santa Fe, in Spanish Provincia Invencible de Santa Fe , is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco , Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, and Santiago del Estero...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. It is the motherchurch of the Archdiocese of Rosario
Archdiocese of Rosario
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rosario is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the southern part of the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, with its motherchurch, the Basilica Cathedral of Our Lady of the Rosary, located in the city of Rosario...
.
The basilica is located on the oldest part of the city, at the corner of Buenos Aires St. and Córdoba St.
Córdoba Street (Rosario)
Córdoba Street is one of the most important streets in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina. It runs east–west through the center of the city, from the coastal avenue by the Paraná River to the western limit of the urbanized area....
, besides the Palacio de los Leones
Palacio de los Leones
Palacio de los Leones is the name of the main municipal building of the city of Rosario, Argentina. The Palace is the seat of the executive branch of the municipal government...
(that is, the municipal building), across the pedestrian path called Pasaje Juramento ("Oath Passage") that leads into the National Flag Memorial
National Flag Memorial (Argentina)
The National Flag Memorial in Rosario, Argentina, is a monumental complex built near the shore of the Paraná River...
. The basilica faces Plaza 25 de Mayo
Plaza 25 de Mayo (Rosario)
Plaza 25 de Mayo is a plaza in Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. It is Rosario's civic center, and the core of the original settlement. Its name alludes to the date of the May Revolution, which led to the establishment of the first local Argentine government in Buenos Aires...
(May 25th
May Revolution
The May Revolution was a week-long series of events that took place from May 18 to 25, 1810, in Buenos Aires, capital of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish colony that included roughly the territories of present-day Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay...
Square), also bordered by the Central Post Office.
The first parish
Parish
A parish is a territorial unit historically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest, who might be assisted in his pastoral duties by a curate or curates - also priests but not the parish priest - from a more or less central parish church with its associated organization...
was built in this site in 1731, at a time when Rosario was no more than a small scattered village on the shore of the Paraná River
Paraná River
The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...
. The image of the Virgin of the Rosary was brought from Cádiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, in 1773.
The basilica dates from the last part of the 19th century; it was first projected in 1882 and its construction started in 1887. Its altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
is of Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
origin, and it was made of Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....
marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
. The motherchurch was officially named a cathedral at the canonical erection of the Diocese of Rosario, on 20 April 1934, and it became a basilica on 7 October 1966.