Our Lady of Altagracia: A Basilica for the New World

The Dominican Republic is a Catholic island in the heart of the Caribbean. It is the home of the first cathedral in the New World, built in the early 16th century, and today it also has a most unique basilica: Our Lady of Altagracia (Our Lady of High Grace), built by two French architects between 1954 and 1971, replacing the very first shrine, and made of concrete.

Boldly designed and a bit futuristic, the Basilica of Our Lady of Altagracia stands in a forest of palm trees. Only 25 miles from the beaches of Punta Cana, the contrast between the city of Higuey, with its mostly light, haphazard structures, and this concrete edifice, highlighted in blue and a banner of red mosaics, is striking to say the least.

Designed to accommodate three thousand people, the interior reveals a truly sacred atmosphere. On the walls, frescoes signed by artist José Vela Zanetti (a political refugee in the Dominican Republic) reinforce the mysticism of the place. With its stained-glass windows made in Chartres, France, forming veritable sections of colored glass walls, the basilica is bright and cool, a nice shelter from the tropical heat.

Every day, hundreds of people flock to Higuey from all over the island to honor the country's patroness. On January 21st, her feast day, the queues extend far beyond the palm trees lining the street to the entrance. The painting of the Madonna and Child, currently set on the altar, was brought from Spain to the New World in the early 16th century. Pope Saint John Paul II prayed in front of this image on October 12, 1992, during his visit to the Dominican Republic.

Aleteia