Mount Carmel Shrine (Quezon City)

Mount Carmel Shrine, also known as Basilica of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Basilika Menor ng Pambansang Dambana ng Mahal na Birhen ng Bundok del Carmen), (Basilica Menor de Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora del Monte Carmelo), is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine located in Barangay Mariana, Quezon City in the Philippines. Dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel, the church opened in 1964 after a decade of construction. It was declared a parish church in 1975 and a national shrine in 2015. In 2019, it was declared a minor basilica, making it the fifteenth minor basilica in the country.

The church celebrates its liturgical feast every July 16. It is under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cubao under the Vicariate of the Holy Family.

Early devotion and missionaries
The devotion of the Filipinos to Our Lady of Mount Carmel started in the 1600s when the Augustinian Recollects received an image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel from the Carmelites in New Spain (present-day Mexico).

In 1923, a group of four Carmelite nuns arrived in the Philippines, and they set up a convent in Jaro, Iloilo City. The Carmelite fathers followed in 1947, focusing their missionary work in a part of Quezon province (present-day Aurora). In 1952, during a meeting with Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi and the Prior General of the Carmelite Order, the former asked for more Carmelites to be sent to the country to establish a monastery and church in Manila.

In response to Vagnozzi's request, a group of Irish Carmelite friars sent to the Philippines initially considered building at either Horseshoe Drive or Gregorio Araneta Avenue, both in Quezon City. However, in 1954, the Carmelites decided to build it at a lot along Broadway Avenue. The land where the basilica stands today was a cogon field that was part of the original estate owned by Magdalena Hemady, the balae or in-law of then-senator Claro M. Recto.

During the 1950s, residents of New Manila would eagerly walk to attend Mass at the nearby Immaculate Conception Cathedral in Cubao, which served as the parish church of New Manila. Other residents would also attend mass at the Christ the King Mission Seminary along E. Rodriguez Sr. Avenue or at the Carmelite Convent along Gilmore Avenue. But other residents would also walk or drive as far as the Santa Mesa Parish (now Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish) in Santa Mesa, Manila or the Santo Domingo Church further north.

Construction and opening
The cornerstone of the Mount Carmel Parish was blessed on December 30, 1954. It took a decade for the church to be completed, with the inauguration taking place on July 16, 1964, the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, with Cardinal-Archbishop of Manila Rufino Santos leading the inauguration.

The church later became a popular location for wedding scenes in the movies. It also became a popular church for actual wedding ceremonies; this is attributed to the lower fees charged at the shrine compared to other churches and the long aisle walk favored by many brides.

On February 17, 1975, the church was established as a parish by Cardinal-Archbishop of Manila Jaime Sin.

Contemporary
From 2015 to 2016, the altar was renovated. Its interior has also been coated with paint for the first time since it was built in 1954. On December 14, 2015, the parish was solemnly declared a national shrine.

On February 20, 2017, the shrine was granted a special bond of spiritual affinity with the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome, along with plenary indulgences for pilgrims in perpetuity. On November 30, 2018, the Holy See approved the petition from the Diocese of Cubao to elevate the shrine to a minor basilica; it was officially declared a basilica on March 25, 2019 (coinciding with the Solemnity of the Annunciation), making it the first church in the Diocese of Cubao to be granted such status.

Shrine details
Designed by Architect Maximo Vicente Jr. and built in the Modernist style on a Latin cross (cruciform) layout, the shrine is located on a 17,155 sqm lot along Broadway Avenue in between 4th and 5th Streets. Behind the church is the St. John of the Cross Seminary.

Aside from the main altar, the church has two side altars: the Saint Joseph altar on the left and the Our Lady of Mount Carmel altar on the right. Since 2019, a medallion bearing the papal arms has been placed above the right side altar, as well at the main façade on top of the image of the Blessed Virgin Mary – signifying its status as a minor basilica. It also has three air-conditioned mortuary chapels with a capacity of 50 to 150 seats.

The story of the life of the Virgin Mary is depicted in the stained glass windows of the church, starting from her early life until her Assumption.

The shrine also contains a columbarium at its lower level.

Venerated Marian image
The venerated image of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is placed at the right side altar of the basilica. The de tallado image was designed and sculpted by Vicente Jr.'s father, Maximo Vicente, Sr. (1885–1964), who is hailed as a master sculptor of religious images. He is also the founder of his shop of religious images, the Talleres de Maximo Vicente.

The de tallado image depicts Mary with the Child Jesus on her left arm and a scepter on her right hand. Both the Madonna and the Child wear golden crowns, with the Madonna wearing the colors of the Carmelite order: brown, pale caramel, and white. A golden ring with stars serves as the halo of the Madonna.

On February 20, 2017, the venerated image had its episcopal coronation (images that are crowned through a decree from the diocesan bishop or archbishop).

On May 13, 2020, the feast day of Our Lady of Fátima, Pope Francis approved the petition for its canonical coronation, although the Diocese of Cubao announced it two months later, on July 9. The image was canonically crowned on August 15 (coinciding with the Feast of the Assumption of Mary).