Madre del Buon Consiglio

Not to be confused with Istituto Mater Boni Consilii.

The Basilica of the Crowned Mother of Good Counsel (Italian: Basilica della incoronata Madre del Buon Consiglio) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica located in Naples, southern Italy. It is dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Good Counsel and is located on the hillside leading up to the Capodimonte palace. The shrine is built on top of the ancient Catacombs of San Gennaro and was rebuilt from 1920 to 1960.

The Basilica of the Crowned Mother of Good Counsel La Basilica della Incoronata Madre del Buon Consiglio
Facade of the Basilica
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic
Rite	Latin Rite
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Basilica
Leadership	Pope Leo XIV
Year consecrated	1960
Status	Active
Location
Location	Naples
Geographic coordinates	40°51′52″N 14°14′49″E
Architecture
Architect(s)	Vincenzo Vecchio
Type	Basilica
Style	Renaissance and Baroque
Groundbreaking	1920
Completed	1960

Interior of the Basilica.

Pope Pius X granted a Pontifical decree of canonical coronation to the enshrined Marian image on 29 March 1911. The rite of coronation was executed by the former Archbishop of Naples, Cardinal Giuseppe Antonio Ermenegildo Prisco on 6 January 1912.

Pope John Paul II raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica through the Pontifical decree Beatæ Mariæ Virginis on 2 January 1980. He later made an Apostolic Visit to this shrine in 21 October 1979 and 9 November 1990. Pious devotees often refer to the ornate building as the “twin sister” highly similar to the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome.

History

The church has its roots in two miracles observed by local girl Maria di Gesù Landi (21 January 1861 – 26 March 1931). Known for her devotion to Our Lady of Good Counsel (Madonna del Buon Consiglio), she created a painting of the Virgin Mary in 1884.

• The image is credited by pious devotees for halting an outbreak of Cholera in the city in 1884.
• Twenty two years later, the same painting is credited for the clearance of the volcanic ash clouds from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in April 1906.

The Roman architect, Vincenzo Vecchio designed the church in model of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The church was constructed between 1920 and 1940, on top of the ancient Catacombs of San Gennaro. It has become the destination of pilgrimages in the name of Maria di Gesù Landi.

The 1980 Irpinia earthquake toppled the finial head of the statue of the Madonna from the top of the church to the ground, where it crashed and lay inexplicably undamaged and claimed to be miraculous by its devotees.

External links

• Page at napoligrafia.it (in Italian)