Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro
The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sameiro or Sanctuary of Sameiro is a sanctuary and Marian shrine in Espinho, near the city of Braga, Portugal.
The Shrine of Our Lady of Sameiro remains one of the most frequented places of Marian devotion in Portugal, the complex itself surpassed in size only by the Sanctuary of Fátima. At the top of a hill, Monte Sameiro, more than 350 metres above Braga, its setting offers a renowned view over the city and the valley of the Minho. Most spectacular is the prospect from the top of the basilica's dome. Every year many devotees come here, especially at times of pilgrimage on the first Sunday of June and the third Sunday of August. The sanctuary is close to Espinho, 4 km from Braga's centre and less than 2 km from the Sanctuary of [Bom Jesus do Monte]. The sanctuary's large garden contains a children's play area. There is also a museum.
History
This site forms part of a Marian Shrine Route in Portugal for Christians. Mary, [mother of Jesus], and often revered as “Nossa Senhora”, has long held a special place in Portuguese history. As national identity took shape, a parallel and exceptional devotion to Mary saw the founding of monasteries, chapels, churches and sanctuaries that are still the focus of celebration and popular festivals. It is to Mary that the majority of cathedrals in Portugal are dedicated, for example those in Porto, Viseu, Lisbon and Évora.Existence of the sanctuary is thanks to Fr Martinho Silva, priest in the archdiocese of Braga, and figurehead of a local Marian devotion from the middle of the 19th century. Only a generation earlier, religious houses throughout Portugal had been forced to close after the end of the Liberal Wars. This, however, had been tantamount to civil war, from which the dust could have barely settled. Many of those faithfully adherent to the Catholic Church, its institutions in Portugal ostensibly among the losers at cessation of hostilities, would have felt bereft and disorientated. Further afield, meanwhile, a vision reported by Catherine Labouré had ignited a general revival of devotion to Mary. Then, in December 1854, Pope Pius IX pronounced as dogma the Immaculate Conception, the belief that, from when she was conceived, Mary had been free of Original sin. The first diocese in Portugal to celebrate this was Braga, with an elaborate ceremony in January 1855. In short order would have come news of the revelations reported by Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes.
Building the domed church started on 14 July 1863. On 28 August 1869 an outdoor shrine was dedicated. It incorporated a marble statue of Mary, work of a sculptor from Porto, Emidio Carlo Amatucci. Electrical failure was blamed for its being wrecked in 1883. Three years later a replacement had been found, the work of Antonio Teixeira Lopes. Developed over several decades, the religious complex at Sameiro also includes a venue for Mass in the Catholic Church, the Casa das Estampas, the Rector’s House, the Chapel of the Eucharist, the crypt under the church, and a grandiose flight of steps. At the top are monuments to the Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Conception. Close to the grounds' entrance are four statues honouring theologians noted for their writings about Mary: Cyril of Alexandria, Alphonsus Liguori, Bernard of Clairvaux and Anthony of Padua.