Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana
The Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana is a 17th-century Spanish colonial shrine that houses the image of the Virgen de Copacabana.[1] It is located in the town of Copacabana, Bolivia on the shores of Lake Titicaca near the Altiplano region. Our Lady of Copacabana is the patron saint of Bolivia.[2]
| Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Catholic Church |
| District | Diocese of El Alto |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Location | |
| Location | Copacabana, Bolivia |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Francisco Jiménez de Siguenza |
| Style | Renaissance |
| Groundbreaking | 1669 |
| Completed | 1679 |
Shortly following the introduction of the Virgin's image into Copacabana, three friars of the Order of Saint Augustine took over management of the original shrine on the Island of the Sun, establishing a monastery and maintaining a detailed record of the Virgin's miracles.[3] The shrine was constructed at the foot of a small, steep, hill in a location formerly known as the Temple of the Sun--an area sacred to the Inca--it remains as one of two principle sacred places to both the indigenous peoples and Catholics alike; the other location being the Virgin of Urkupiña near Cochabamba, Bolivia.[4][5]
The original chapel was built in 1583, following the completion of the original statue of the patroness by Francisco Yupanquie in 1576.[6] The current building was built between 1669 and 1679[7] by the Spaniard architect Francisco Jiménez de Siguenza replacing the former church. It would then be officially elevated to the rank of Basilica in 1940, as it remains to this day.[6]
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The hilltop overlooking Lake Titicaca was rededicated as a "calvario" or replica of Calvary and is topped by the Stations of the Seven Sorrows of Mary and an altar with a depiction of the crucifixion of Jesus. It is a major centre of worship throughout the region during Holy Week, especially on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
April 2013 Robbery
In the early hours of Monday, 22 April 2013, the Basilica of Our Lady of Copacabana was robbed and the image of the Virgen de Copacabana was stripped of her gold and silver accessories.[8] Initial reports indicate that twenty-eight items, including the sculpture of the baby Jesus, were removed from the Virgen de Copacabana by thieves who entered the building using a ladder stolen from a nearby telecommunications station.[9]
References
- "Virgen de la Candelaria - Copacabana, Bolivia". www.sacred-destinations.com. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
- Salles-Reese, Verónica (1997). From Viracocha to the Virgin of Copacabana: Representation of the Sacred at lake Titicaca (1st ed.). Austin: University of Texas Press. pp. 166–167. ISBN 0292777132.
- MacCormack, Sabine (2010). "Human and Divine Love in a Pastoral Setting: The Histories of Copacabana on Lake Titicaca". Representations. 112 (1): 54–86. doi:10.1525/rep.2010.112.1.54 – via JSTOR.
- MacCormack, Sabine (1984). "From the Sun of the Incas to the Virgin of Copacabana". Representations. 1984 (8): 30–60. doi:10.2307/2928557. JSTOR 2928557 – via JSTOR.
- Albro, Robert (1998). "Neoliberal Ritualists of Urkupiña: Bedeviling Patrimonial Identity in a Bolivian Patronal Fiesta". Ethnology. 37 (2, Special Issue: Relocating Bolivia: Popular Political Perspectives): 133–164. doi:10.2307/3774001. JSTOR 3774001 – via JSTOR.
- Aradi, Zsolt (1954). Shrines to our Lady Around the World (1st ed.). New York: Farrar, Straus and Young. pp. 158–161.
- Pepe Barrascout (5 August 2015). "Nuestra Señora de Copacabana – Bolivia". Cathedral of Escuintla website (in Spanish).
- Yates, Donna. "The Virgin of Copacabana has been looted". anonymousswisscollector.com. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
- Linarez, Iblin. "Los tesoros de la Virgen carecen de seguro antirrobo". la-razon.com. Archived from the original on 2013-05-02. Retrieved 2013-04-30.
