Establishment of a shrine The most ancient documentation of a church at the present location of the sanctuary dates to the year 1200, where a church named (in
Latin) was administered by the then-
Archdiocese of Conza. By the year 1527, the name of the church had changed to . By then, the small church had become popular among
pilgrims from the and surrounding area. In order to accommodate the pilgrims, boarding quarters were built around the church. In the year 1600, a
well known as the Well of San Gerardo was built to provide for the church and pilgrims; this well was eventually incorporated into the new shrine built in 1973, and is visible next to the
sacristy. that he established a
Redemptorist monastery in 1746 in order to care for the sanctuary. The monastery was designed by royal architect Pietro Cimafonte. Following the
beatification and
canonization of Gerard Majella in 1893 and 1904, respectively, the number of pilgrims visiting his grave at the sanctuary increased dramatically, so much so that the Redemptorists considered expanding the small church dedicated to Santa Maria Mater Domini. It was built in the
neoclassical style, using
Pescopagano stone. It had a
cruciform floor plan with a three-part
nave taking the shape of a
Latin cross. The
vault of the nave, above the double
arches, was decorated with
stuccos accented by gold inlays.
Stained glass windows depicted scenes from the life of Saint Gerard. All of these adornments were destroyed on November 23 by the
Irpinia earthquake of 1980. The basilica was not reopened until April 30, 2000, during the
Great Jubilee. While it was largely based on the former floor plan, the reopened church was slightly longer, as its interior incorporated the front
portico. However, all of the artwork that had adorned the interior prior to the earthquake was lost. The tomb of Saint Gerard was also relocated from the
altar in the right
aisle to the central aisle. The
crystal, silver, and
mother of pearl urn containing the
relics of the saint lies behind a
high-relief marble statue in the
chancel of Saint Gerard among the people. Outside of the basilica is a replica of the small room in which Saint Gerard lived during his time in Materdomini, complete with antique furnishings and a replica of the 18th-century
terracotta floor. Today, around one million pilgrims visit the sanctuary basilica each year, with many leaving
votive offerings throughout the shrine; of particular note is the "room of bows," in which blue and pink bows are left by mothers giving thanks for
miracles received. == See also ==