Basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes, Quinta Normal, Chile

Origins and Historical Context
Bernadette Soubirous, a fourteen-year-old girl of humble origins, experienced a series of apparitions of the Immaculate Conception on February 11, 1858, in the Massabielle grotto in Lourdes, France. According to history, the Virgin appeared incognito 18 times, of which, in the thirteenth apparition, she ordered Bernadette to build a chapel in her name for pilgrims to process to. This request was denied by Father Peyramale, parish priest of Lourdes at the time, because he did not know the name of this mysterious lady, which was revealed to Bernadette in the sixteenth apparition. The name was the Immaculate Conception. These events, which had a great impact, were recognized by the Holy See in 1862. The grotto became known as a pilgrimage site, and a sanctuary was built, which currently receives 6 million people each year. The sanctuary consists of the aforementioned grotto and the basilica built by Monsignor Laurence, the bishop who welcomed the revelations made to Bernadette by the Immaculate Conception. Thanks to this story, which caught the attention of Father Jacinto Arriagada, the idea and construction of a shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in Santiago, Chile, imitating the original grotto of Lourdes, began to take shape. This eventually became the current shrine in Quinta Normal, which, in addition to the grotto, houses the great basilica of Our Lady of Lourdes. Various events are held there, especially on February 11th in commemoration of the apparition of Our Lady of Lourdes in France, and on December 8th, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

In 1876, thanks to Father Jacinto Arriagada’s devotion to building a temple in honor of the Virgin of Lourdes, inspired by the original located in France, the Ecclesiastical Authority signed a decree authorizing its construction in Santiago. To carry out this temple were used land adjacent to Quinta Normal Park donated by Alejandro Vigouroux, a wealthy neighbor of the sector who owned the property. It is here where the construction of the Church began in 1880 and ended in 1893, and the replica of the original Grotto, “it is an exact replica of the historic Grotto of Massabielle in France. although the central part reproduces the original Grotto as is, in its lateral extensions it presents differences, on the left side the paintings by the Chilean artist Pedro Jofré, which tell the story of the 18 apparitions, and on the right side the Water Fountain in memory of the Lourdes spring, which was inaugurated on February 11, 1908. Over time, devotion to the Virgin Mary expanded, causing an increase in pilgrims visiting the sanctuary. The old temple was reduced in size, and it was decided to build a larger one in its place. The construction of the new temple began in 1929 and was made possible thanks to the help of humble donations from people to the church and the publication of the magazine “El Eco de Lourdes” (since 1901) which served as a means of dissemination to collaborate, these donations could be a bag of cement, iron, bricks, among others, the Basilica being finished in 1958. Its inauguration was presided over by Monsignor Alfredo Cifuentes, Archbishop of La Serena. In 1992 the Basilica of Lourdes was proclaimed a “minor basilica” by Pope John Paul II , and later in 2000 it was named the “Permanent Jubilee Temple” of the western zone of the Archdiocese of Santiago by the Cardinal Archbishop of Santiago, Monsignor Francisco Javier Errázuriz. Due to the earthquake of February 27, 2010, the Basilica suffered damage to its interior, to the stained glass windows and the dome, as well as the Grotto, which suffered damage to the bell tower and niches that tell the story of the apparitions of the Virgin to Bernadette and part of the Convent that is located next to the Basilica. The restoration of the Basilica, grotto and convent is currently being managed by Lucía Muñoz de Saldaña, treasurer of the Cultural Corporation of Rengo, and María Antonia Pulgar Saldaña, Coordinator of Infrastructure and Heritage. Also in attendance were the Ingal S. A. Construction Company, Claudio Cortez, monument restorer, and Ana Anselmo, stained glass restorer. Representing the Cultural Corporation was María Antonia Pulgar Saldaña, and representing the Assumptionist community were Fathers Martín Nace, Héctor García, Aldo Gajardo, and H. Ramón Gutiérrez.