Vatican honors Philadelphia shrine with status as a basilica

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia learned this week the Vatican announced that it was giving a shrine in the city’s Germantown section — that has served as a focal site of prayer and pilgrimage for countless Catholics here and around the country — a new title.

It will now be known as the Basilica Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal.

The shrine has long served as a place of devotion to Mary, the Mother of God, as an intercessor with God in the Catholic faith. The shrine was built in the 1870s. Many people have prayed at the shrine since the Vincentian Fathers started weekly novenas there in the 1930s.

This designation is shared by only one other church in the City of Philadelphia, the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, and 91 others across the United States

“I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father for bestowing this tremendous honor on The Miraculous Medal Shrine," said Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Perez. “This moment is one of great joy for the entire Church in Philadelphia. The Miraculous Medal Shrine is a great gift drawing souls closer to Christ through the intercession of the Blessed Mother. I congratulate the Vincentians and all those working to sustain the shrine and its ministry. May their work continue to bear great fruit.”

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The Vincentians, founded by Saint Vincent de Paul in 1625, arrived in Philadelphia in 1841, where they established a seminary in Germantown, including construction of a chapel for use by the priests and seminarians. At the request the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, they modified their plans for the chapel and in 1878 opened its doors for liturgical celebrations and pastoral assistance for the poor, working-class, and largely immigrant residents of the surrounding neighborhood, who at the time did not have a parish church, Gavin said.

In 1927, Vincentians commissioned an expansion of the chapel for the creation of a shrine to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal, a title of the Blessed Mother originating with apparitions of her to St. Catherine Labouré at the Rue du Bac Chapel in Paris in 1830.

Now a basilica, the shrine has long served as the United States as a distributor for the “Miraculous Medals."

“It is an esteemed honor to be recognized by the Vatican as a Minor Basilica. We are both overjoyed and humbled by this recognition. This historic proclamation marks the next chapter in the shrine’s history and recognizes the significant role it has played in the Catholic Church, the Philadelphia Archdiocese, and the shrine community,” said the Rev. Timothy V. Lyons, rector.

Gavin said that "the central functions of a basilica are rooted in the sacramental life of the Church as a site of pilgrimage, an historical landmark, and a house of significant sacred art." It will display the Vatican City coat of arms and other appointments in recognition of its new honor.

The basilical shrine is located at 475 E. Chelten Ave., Philadelphia. For more information, visit https://miraculousmedal.org/the-message/a-medal-that-changed-the-world/

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Vatican honors Philadelphia with second basilica at shrine to Mary