Our Lady Basilica, Máriabesnyő, Minor basilica and parish church in Máriabesnyő, Gödöllő, Hungary.
Our Lady Basilica in Máriabesnyő is a Baroque Roman Catholic church built to plans by János Mayerhoffer, with a lower church, an upper church and a Loreto chapel joined to the upper church in 1912. Its main altar dates from 1917, and wall paintings and stained-glass windows by Lajos Márton were made in 1941–1942.
Count Antal Grassalkovich had a Loreto chapel built in 1758 on the ruins of a 13th-century Premonstratensian church, where a small Marian statue was found during clearing. Capuchins brought a cedar statue from Loreto in 1759, and between 1768 and 1771 János Mayerhoffer designed a lower and an upper church, consecrated on 17 March 1771. The church was renovated in 1912, became a parish church in 1936 and a minor basilica in 2008.
The pilgrimage site is tied to a cedar-wood Madonna brought from Loreto in 1759 and to a small bone-carved statue found among the ruins. Full indulgences are granted on dates including 15 August, 13–15 August, 29 June, 2 May and 19 April, the day the statue was found.
Visitors can attend masses held from weekdays to multiple Sunday services, with additional ceremonies during major Catholic holidays. It is wise to check the exact times in advance as these can vary depending on the season and feast days.
The church founder, Count Antal Grassalkovich, lies buried in a marble sarcophagus carved by Johann Georg Dorfmeister. In the Capuchin cemetery beside the church is the grave of Irene Teleki, wife of Prime Minister Pál Teleki, who died in 1941.
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