The Basilica of Saint Pius X, informally known as the Underground Basilica, is a large Roman Catholic church 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 ...

, located in the town of

Lourdes Lourdes (, also , ; oc, Lorda ) is a market town situated in the Pyrenees. It is part of the Hautes-Pyrénées department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. Prior to the mid-19th century, the town was best known for the Châ ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is part of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Lourdes is a major

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

pilgrimage site and 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 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

endorses the belief that the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

appeared to Saint

Bernadette Soubirous Bernadette Soubirous (; ; oc, Bernadeta Sobirós ; 7 January 184416 April 1879), also known as Saint Bernadette of Lourdes, was the firstborn daughter of a miller from Lourdes (''Lorda'' in Occitan), in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées in ...

there. The Basilica of St. Pius X is the largest and most controversial of the

Domain Domain may refer to: Mathematics *Domain of a function, the set of input values for which the (total) function is defined ** Domain of definition of a partial function ** Natural domain of a partial function **Domain of holomorphy of a function * ...

's churches. It was completed in 1958 in anticipation of the enormous crowds expected in Lourdes for the

centenary {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at a ...

of the Apparitions. The controversy of this church consists of the fact that it is a modern, concrete building, and it is almost entirely underground (part of the building lies beneath the Boulevard Père Rémi Sempé above).

Dimensions and capacity

The Basilica was designed by the architect Pierre Vago. The nave is oval, long and wide, and slopes gently upwards from the centre, where the sanctuary is situated on a raised platform. The ceiling is low, at only high, and is supported by 58 pre-stressed concrete pillars which meet 29 concrete beams which cross the ceiling, giving it the impression of an upturned ship. This design creates a very large open space, of , for maximum visibility from any part of the nave. When full it can accommodate up to 25,000 worshippers.

Interior decoration

On the walls there are 52 images in the gemmail style of overlapping stained glass. On the west ramp are the 15 traditional

Mysteries of the Rosary 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 ...

, and on the east ramp are the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

, designed by Denys de Solère. On the lower part of the east side is the series "Bernadette's Way of Light", based on sketches by René Margotton, which depict the eighteen apparitions together with two scenes from her life. There are two further images, one on each side of the entrance to the sacristy.Official website of th
sanctuary
, accessed 15 December 2013

Consecration

The consecration of the basilica was on March 25, 1958 by Angelo Cardinal Roncalli, who was earlier the Papal Nuncio to France, then Patriarch of Venezia, and who later became

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 28 Oc ...

. The consecration year was selected to celebrate the centenary of the 18 visions of the Virgin Mary by Saint Bernadette. This basilica is one of the largest churches inspired by

Visions of Jesus and Mary Since the Crucifixion of Jesus on Calvary, a number of people have claimed to have had visions of Jesus Christ and personal conversations with him. Some people make similar claims regarding his mother, Mary, who is often known as the Virgin Mary. ...

References

External links

Basilica of St. Pius X
{{Authority control Catholic Church in France Our Lady of Lourdes Basilica churches in France Churches in Hautes-Pyrénées