Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida

The Cathedral Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida (Portuguese: Catedral Basílica do Santuário Nacional de Nossa Senhora Aparecida) is a prominent Catholic basilica in Aparecida, Brazil. It is dedicated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Aparecida, the principal patroness of Brazil. It is the largest cathedral in the world, and the second largest Catholic church by interior area and volume, after St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. As a cathedral, it is the seat of the Archdiocese of Aparecida.

The site has its origins in the finding of a small dark clay statue of the Virgin Mary. According to local tradition, three fishermen were attempting to catch a large amount of fish in the Paraíba River for a banquet honoring the visit of São Paulo governor Pedro de Almeida in 1717. Despite their prayers, their attempts were fruitless until late in the day, one of the fishermen cast his net and pulled it back to find a headless statue of the Virgin Mary. Upon his next cast, he found the head. The group cleaned the statue, wrapped it in cloth, and returned to their task to find their fortunes had changed and they were able to obtain all the fish they needed. The statue is believed to be the work of Frei Agostino de Jesus, a monk residing in São Paulo.

The statue was originally housed at the home of Felipe Pedroso, one of the fishermen who found it. This became a popular site for visitors wishing to pray to the image, leading Pedroso's family to build a small chapel to house the statue. This was replaced in 1734 by a larger chapel, and then in 1834 by the first basilica on the site. In 1955, with pilgrimage numbers still growing, the construction work began on the present building, in a site nearby. The basilica, including the external area, has room for more than 200,000 people and is second in capacity after St. Peter's Basilica. The old wooden chapel was originally built in 1745. The old shrine is a modest church in the colonial style built between 1834 and 1888. Since that time, pious worshippers have termed it as a basilica. Due to the following conflicting accounts on dates, the Vatican has enumerated the following recorded Papal documents:

Pope Leo XIII mentioned the Brazilian devotion to this image called "Nossa Senhora da Conceição Aparecida" prior to his death in 1903 Pope Pius X granted a canonical coronation to this same image on 8 December 1904. Pope Pius XI declared that same Marian title as the Patroness of Brazil through a papal bull signed on 16 July 1930, also witnessed and signed by Cardinal Eugenio Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII). Pope Paul VI granted its first Golden rose on 12 August 1967 Pope John Paul II formally elevated and consecrated it as a Basilica on 4 July 1980.

Benedito Calixto Neto was the architect contracted for the design of the project and, in 1955, the construction of the new basilica started. The structure is in the Romanesque Revival style and takes the form of a Greek Cross, with arms 188 m (617 ft) in length and 183 m (600 ft) in width. The dome is 70 m (230 ft) high and the tower reaches a height of 109 m (358 ft). The basilica contains 25,000 m2 (270,000 sq ft) of internal space. The main church can accommodate 300,000 people in open air celebrations. The grounds contain a shopping mall, medical clinic, restaurants and a 272,000 m2 (2,930,000 sq ft) parking lot that can hold 4,000 buses and 6,000 cars. On 4 July 1980, Pope John Paul II consecrated the sanctuary while the building was still under construction. Pope Benedict XVI visited the church on 12 May 2007, during his apostolic journey to Brazil on the occasion of the Fifth General Conference of the Bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean. During his visit, the Pope awarded the shrine a Golden Rose. On the occasion

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