Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro — Attraction in Braga

On June 14, 1863, the first stone was laid for a monument in honor of the Immaculate Conception of Mary on Mount Sameiro, currently the monument is in Santa Marta das Cortiças (Esporões). On August 29, 1869, the monument was blessed and inaugurated, with an image by Emídio Carlos Amatucci. On August 31, 1873, construction began on a chapel commemorating the First Vatican Council and the dogma of pontifical infallibility. On August 8, 1877, the statutes of the Brotherhood of the Immaculate Conception of Monte Sameiro were created. On August 7, 1878, the image of Nossa Senhora do Sameiro, the work of the Italian sculptor Eugénio Maccagnani (1852-1930), arrived in Braga. On August 29, 1880, the image was solemnly taken to Sameiro and enthroned in the chapel, which had been consecrated the day before. On January 9, 1883, the monument was destroyed for an unknown reason – lightning, according to some, a storm combined with poor construction, according to others, a criminal explosion, according to still others.[1] On July 28, 1884, construction began on a new monument. On May 9, 1886, the new monument was inaugurated. On August 31, 1890, the first stone of the current Sanctuary was laid. On June 12, 1904, the image of the Virgin was crowned by the Apostolic Nuncio, Monsignor José Macchi, special delegate of Pope Pius X. On July 12, 1936, construction of the dome began. 1940, 2 columns, weighing 6 tons each, made of marble from Estremoz, are destined for the altar of Senhora do Sameiro. On June 12, 1941, the Sanctuary's altar was consecrated. On June 7, 1953, the monumental cross was inaugurated, the work of architect David Moreira da Silva. On June 13, 1954, the monuments to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and to Pope Pius IX (the latter sculpted by Raul Xavier) were inaugurated. Between 1959 and 1960, the statues by Raul Xavier that constitute the Portico of the Marian doctors were inaugurated: Cirilo de Alexandria (August 30, 1959), Bernardo de Claraval (May 29, 1960), António de Lisboa (December 8 1959) and Afonso Maria de Ligório (August 24, 1960). On June 17, 1979, the Crypt was inaugurated, under the initial temple. On May 15, 1982, it was visited by Pope John Paul II. On June 3, 1984, the statue of Pope John Paul II was inaugurated. On December 8, 2004, in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, Pope John Paul II, through his Vatican delegate, Eugênio Sales, distinguished the Sanctuary of Sameiro with the Golden Rose. In 2006, Óscar Casares conceived the panel "Salve Regina" for the Main Altar of the Crypt of...

Wie Bom Jesus do Monte besitzt auch die Basilika Unserer Lieben Frau von Sameiro den Rang einer Basilica minor. Sie ist die erste portugiesische Kirche, die dem 1854 ausgerufenen Dogma der Unbefleckten Empfängnis gewidmet ist.

Der Wallfahrtsort liegt auf der höchsten Erhebung östlich von Braga. Hier ist alles größer: Die Kirche, der Vorplatz, die Treppenanlage. Allerdings bei weitem nicht so schön wie der Bom Jesus. Allein die Treppe erstreckt sich auf einer Länge von 300 Metern etwa 40 Meter den Hang hinauf, bietet allerdings nichts, was der raffinierten Barockanlage von Bom Jesus vergleichbar wäre. Mal abgesehen von der Aussicht. Ihrem Status als einem der meistbesuchten Orte der Marienverehrung in Portugal tut das jedoch keinen Abbruch.

Der Bau des Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Sameiro begann 1863 unter der Leitung von Pater Martinho da Silva. Als erstes wurde eine marmorne Marienstatue des Italieners Emídio Carlos Amatucci aufgestellt. 1880 wurde dann eine erste Kapelle fertig, die ein Bildnis der Schutzheiligen bewahrte, das der Bildhauer Eugenio Maccagnani in Rom geschaffen hatte und 1880 in das Heiligtum brachte.

Der Bau der Kirche begann schließlich 1890, mit der Grundsteinlegung durch Antonio Honorato, den damaligen Erzbischof von Braga. Man erbaute eine wuchtige neoklassizistische Kirche über kreuzförmigem Grundriss, mit einer hohen Kuppel als Vierungsturm und einer Doppelturmfassade im Westen. Die Bauarbeiten zogen sich jedoch in die Länge: 1941 konnte der Hochaltar aus Granit mit flankierenden roten Marmorsäulen und der 1904 mit einer Krone Roque Gameiros gekrönten Marienstatue im Zentrum geweiht werden, zu dem auch ein silberner Tabernakel gehört. 1953 konnte die Kirche vollends fertiggestellt werden.

1979 wurde für die vielen Pilger eine Krypta errichtet, in der dann auch Pater Martinho da Silva beigesetzt wurde. 1982 besuchte Papst Johannes Paul II. das Marienheiligtum. 2004 schließlich wurde ein beleuchtetes Kreuz über einer Armillarsphäre auf die...

Implantado no cimo do monte com o mesmo nome, e situado a 566 metros de altitude, o Santuário de Nossa Senhora do Sameiro é um dos locais de culto mariano mais visitados em Portugal, proporcionando uma vista privilegiada sobre a cidade de Braga. Todos os anos atrai muitos devotos, especialmente durante as peregrinações do primeiro domingo de junho e do último terceiro de agosto. A sua fundação deve-se a Martinho Silva, presbítero da arquidiocese de Braga, que dinamizou o culto mariano neste local a partir da década de sessenta do século XIX. Construído ao longo de várias décadas, o complexo religioso integra, entre outros elementos, o recinto para a missa campal, a Casa das Estampas, a Casa do Reitor, a Capela do Santíssimo Sacramento, a igreja principal, a cripta e a ampla escadaria monumental, no topo da qual se encontram os monumentos do Sagrado Coração de Jesus e da Nossa Senhora da Conceição.

No altar-mor pode admirar-se o sacrário de prata e a imagem da padroeira, feita em Roma pelo escultor Eugénio Maccagnani e trazida para o local em 1880. Ao longo do século XX o santuário tem sido enriquecido com obras de arte que testemunham diferentes sensibilidades estéticas e religiosas: na cripta encontra-se um conjunto de painéis de azulejo concebidos por Querubim Lapa; no presbitério foi pintado, entre 2005 e 2006, um grande painel da autoria de Oscar Casares; e, mais recentemente, Clara Meneres foi responsável pelas quatro grandes esculturas dos arcanjos São Miguel, São Rafael e São Gabriel, acompanhados pelo Anjo Custódio da Pátria.

A 8 de dezembro de 2004, o papa João Paulo II concedeu ao santuário a Rosa de Ouro, distinção atribuída pelos pontífices a personalidades, santuários, igrejas ou cidades em reconhecimento por serviços relevantes prestados à Igreja ou para bem...