Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle, Minor basilica in San Juan, Texas, US.
The Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in San Juan, Texas, under the Diocese of Brownsville. The present shrine church, dedicated in 1980, stands north of the site of the 1954 shrine, whose tower still stands to the south. A mural, Jesus Presents his Mother, is on the shrine's exterior wall.
Rev. Jose Maria Azpiazu, O.M.I., began promoting devotion to Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos after becoming pastor of St. John the Baptist parish in San Juan in 1949. He commissioned a reproduction of the venerated statue from an artist in Guadalajara, Mexico, and placed it in the San Juan chapel. With approval from Bishop Mariano S. Garriaga of Corpus Christi, a new church and shrine were built in 1954. On October 23, 1970, a low-flying airplane crashed into the shrine and exploded; the tower survived. The statue was rescued by Rev. Patricio Dominguez and sacristan Pedro Rodriguez. Groundbreaking for the new shrine took place on November 27, 1976, and it was dedicated on April 19, 1980, before an estimated 50,000 people.
The devotion began in 1949 when Rev. Jose Maria Azpiazu, pastor of St. John the Baptist parish, commissioned a reproduction of the Virgin venerated at San Juan de los Lagos in Guadalajara, Mexico, and placed it in the San Juan chapel. The rescued statue survived the 1970 fire and the shrine's dining room served as its temporary home. The mural Jesus Presents his Mother on the exterior wall was blessed on February 2, 1995.
The grounds are busiest on Saturdays and Sundays, when pilgrim numbers peak; weekend Masses run from 11:30 and 17:30 on Saturday and from 07:00 to 19:00 on Sunday, in Spanish, English and bilingual form. The outdoor Stations of the Cross line a 3/4-mile path, so allow time to walk it. The original 1954 tower stands south of the present shrine.
The outdoor Stations of the Cross follow a 3/4-mile path and consist of 30 life-size bronze statues, dedicated on October 16, 1993. The figures are grouped along the route rather than set one per station, so walkers pass several statues at each stop.
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