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Church · Caposele (AV)

Sanctuary of Saint Gerard Majella

  • Visit: about 20 min
  • 537 m
Sanctuary of Saint Gerard Majella
Photo: Gerrusson · CC BY-SA 3.0 · resized

The Materdomini basilica in Caposele, where Saint Gerard Majella died: one of the most visited sanctuaries in southern Italy.

In Materdomini, a hamlet of Caposele, stands the sanctuary dedicated to Maria Santissima Mater Domini and to Saint Gerard Majella. Tradition tells of two apparitions of the Virgin to poor shepherds on a hill covered with elder trees; the chapel built on the spot was already drawing pilgrims from Irpinia, Lucania and the Salerno area in 1505. In 1748 the arrival of Saint Alphonsus Maria de' Liguori led to the founding of a Redemptorist college.Gerard died here in 1755, and after his canonisation in 1904 his cult grew enormously; in 1930 the church became a minor basilica. The tent-shaped church of 1974, over 46 metres high, collapsed in the 1980 earthquake, and the basilica reopened in 2000. We suggest visiting the rooms with the saint's relics and the countless ex-votos donated over the centuries.

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More places in Caposele

Museum

San Gerardo Museum

Piccolo museo nel santuario di Materdomini a Caposele, dedicato alla vita e al culto di San Gerardo Maiella.

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