Basílica Menor de la Virgen de Monserrate

The Basílica Menor de la Virgen de Monserrate is a basilica built in the town of Hormigueros, Puerto Rico dedicated to the Virgin of Montserrat.

Santuario de la Monserrate de Hormigueros and Casa de Peregrinos
Location1 Calle Peregrinos, Hormigueros, Puerto Rico
Coordinates18°08′26″N 67°07′38″W
NRHP reference No.75002134[1]
Added to NRHPApril 17, 1975
Central nave of the Basilica

History
BasilicaMenor-HormiguerosPR-02

The foundation of the basilica is on the site of a rural chapel built by a Catalan estate owner called Don Gerardo González, who was the owner of the valleys of the region.[2] Although the specific date when the original chapel was constructed is not known, some records date it as far as 1590. Also, radiocarbon dating tests done to pieces of wood from a coffin found in the basilica point to the existence of the chapel as far back as 1570.

The structure combines romantic elements and styles in its architecture, including a bell tower with Mozarabic elements.

In 1696, the chapel acquired a guest house called Casa de Peligrinos (Pilgrims House). In 1814, Juan Alejo de Arizmendi, the first native Puerto Rican bishop, fell ill in this house after traveling around the island in his second pastoral visit.[3] He desired to be buried in his beloved chapel. He died in Arecibo the following October 12, but his wishes were not followed, burial instead taking place in his cathedral. The house is now the rectory of the basilica.

The basilica and its rectory were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 as the Santuario de la Monserate de Hormigueros and Casa de Peregrinos.[1]

In 1998, Pope John Paul II raised the rank of the Church of Our Lady of Montserrat to that of a minor basilica, a distinction held previously on the island only by the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in the capital.

Folklore

There is folklore about the town's founder, an explanation of why the church in the town, Basílica Menor de la Virgen de Monserrate, became so important. The legend has to do with the townspeople aiding Geraldo in finding his eight-year-old daughter, "with eyes as blue as the turquoise skies", when she disappeared. When his daughter was found 15 days later she was unharmed, not hungry, and unafraid and happily explained that a beautiful, black woman had helped her, caressed her face and given her fruit. Geraldo reported it was the Virgin of Montserrat and Geraldo said that for having helped his daughter she would be venerated for all ages. Many people heard of the tale but it had not been the first tale from Geraldo.[2] The first and more popular tale from Geraldo had been that a savage bull was going to attack him and when he prayed, the bull bent its knees, bowed its head to the ground, and didn't attack.[4] Some versions of the story, of the bull that would kill Geraldo, state the bull's legs actually broke and thus was unable to charge at him.[5] Since then, many Catholics perform penitence by walking the steps to the church on their knees.[6] Many pilgrimages have been made to the church, even as early as in the 17th century.[2]

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See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Selección de Leyendas puertorriqueñas: El Prodigio de Hormigueros (1640)". ufdc.ufl.edu (in Spanish).
  3. The Catholic historical review (1919 ed.). Catholic University of America Press. 1919. p. 358. Archived from the original on 2017-02-17. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  4. Ramírez-Rivera, José (1979). 1929- Selección de Leyendas puertorriqueñas por Cayetano Coll y Toste ; adaptación y versión moderna de José Ramírez Rivera ; [dibujos, Janet Slemko, Brad Klein] (in Spanish) (5th ed.). Mayagüez, P.R.: Ediciones Libero. pp. 92–94. ISBN 978-0-9601700-2-9.
  5. Hermandad de Artistas Gráficos de Puerto Rico (1998). Puerto Rico--arte e identidad (in Spanish). La Editorial, UPR. pp. 96–. ISBN 978-0-8477-0223-7.
  6. LaBrucherie, Roger (1984). Images of Puerto Rico. El Centro, Calif., USA: Imágenes Press. p. 27.
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