Shrine of Our Lady of Europe

Infobox church
name = Shrine of Our Lady of Europe
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color = BFE4FF


imagesize = 150
caption = Shrine of Our Lady of Europe
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denomination = Roman Catholic
diocese = Diocese of Gibraltar
parish =
division =
subdivision =
founded_date = 20 August 1462
founder =
architect =
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closed_date =
demolished_date =
bishop =
priest = Louis Orfila
archdeacon =
dean =
provost =
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curate =
chaplain =
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location = Europa Point
country = GIB
phone = [phone]
website = [http://www.catholicdiocese.gi/shrine/shrine.html Shrine of Our Lady of Europe]

The Shrine of Our Lady of Europe is a Roman Catholic shrine at the southern tip of Gibraltar, at Europa Point. It is the church where Our Lady of Europe, the Catholic Patroness of Gibraltar is worshiped.

History

On 20th August 1462, on St. Bernard of Clairvaux's feastday, the Spaniards recaptured Gibraltar from the Moors. They found a little mosque at Europa Point and converted it into a Christian shrine in honour of Our Lady as Patroness of Europe ("Ermita de la Virgen de Europa" in Spanish), with devout intention of consecrating to God, through Mary, the whole continent, from a place of prayer and worship at its southernmost point.

They built a large chapel at right angles to the mosque's east wall and the whole area became the Shrine of Our Lady of Europe. A statue of the Virgin and Child was installed in this shrine in the 15th century. The statue was quite small, only two feet in height, carved in wood and polychromed in royal red, blue and gold. The Virgin was seated in a simple chair, with the Child Jesus on her lap. Both were crowned and the Virgin held in her right hand a sceptre with three flowers denoting Love, Truth and Justice. The shrine prospered in fame and popularity, for well over two centuries. Ships passing through the Strait saluted Our Lady as they passed Europa Point and mariners often came ashore with gifts to the shrine. Provisions were made by them for a constant supply of oil so that a light could be kept burning not only in front of the image but also in the tower. Therefore, the light kept burning in the tower above the chapel was the first Gibraltar lighthouse.

In the 16th century, the Mediterranean coasts of Spain were the target of the Barbary pirates. In 1540, Gibraltar was attacked and looted by a lieutenant of Barbarossa, Hali Hamat. The shrine was sacked and all its valuables were stolen (the status of the Virgin and Child was respected however). In spite of this, the shrine recovered and was protected by new walls, erected by Philip II. New notable gifts were received such as a silver lamp, given in 1568 by Giovanni Andrea Doria, son of the great Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, or two massive silver lamps presented by Don Juan de Austria, upon his victory at the battle of Lepanto.

The great disaster for the shrine happened in 1704 as the town was taken by a mainly English-Dutch army on behalf of the pretender to the Spanish crown, the Archduke Charles. As the bombardment of the town began, most of the women and children of Gibraltar were evacuated to the shrine led by several priests. Part of the troops of Captain Edward Whitaker, who had landed in Rosia Bay, headed to the shrine captured the women. They also looted:

Some women had been killed in a gunfight before the soldiers took the shrine, but did not suffered from further molestation when the shrine was sacked. The head of the statue of the Virgin and the child Jesus were broken off. Once broken, their remains were thrown to the water and flung onto the rocks below. However, as it was made of wood it floated out to sea. The pieces were found by a fisherman, who deliver them to Juan Romero de Figueroa, the priest in charge at the parish of St. Mary the Crowned. Romero de Figueroa remained in the town even when almost the whole of the population left Gibraltar and eventually took the pieces of the statue for safekeeping to one of the places where the Gibraltar inhabitants had settled down, Algeciras. The statue was hosted in a small chapel dedicated to St. Bernard, which changed its name to Chapel of Our Lady of Europe.

Meanwhile, the shrine, as all the Catholic places of worship but the church of St. Mary the Crowned (currently the Catholic cathedral) ceased to be used. It was heavily damaged in the Great Siege of 1779-1783 and subsequently demolished.

In 1979 Pope John Paul II officially approved the title of Our Lady of Europe as Patroness of Gibraltar, and subsequently, the shrine was restored.

References

External links

* [http://www.gibraltar.gov.gi/tourism/lady_of_europe.htm Lady of Europe at the Gibraltar government site] .