Description of the attraction
The Budslau Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a majestic Catholic church built in the late Baroque style in 1767-1783. It is a stone three-aisled basilica with two tiered towers.
According to an ancient legend (confirmed by information from the chronicles), in 1504, four monks came to the place that later became the city of Budslav, who, apart from axes and a letter granted to them by Alexander Jagiellonchik, had nothing. The monks did not know how to build housing, so they built some kind of strange hut and began to pray in it. In Belarusian, the word “hut” sounds like a budan. Hence the name of the city of Budslav came from.
In 1588, an unprecedented divine sign took place over the monastic cells. The Virgin Mary appeared from the shining cloud with the Baby in her arms and said: "From this time on, the glory of our God and my Son, and my protection will be given to you forever."
One of the greatest Catholic shrines, the Budslav Icon of the Mother of God, is kept in the Budslav Church. In 1996, Pope John Paul II declared this icon the patroness of Belarus. The holiday in honor of the holy icon is celebrated annually on June 2. Pilgrims come to the temple not only from all over Belarus, but also from other countries.
Large Catholic festivals are also held here, which are attended by the highest Catholic clergy and representatives of the Vatican.
In 1994, John Paul II of the Budslav Church was given the status of a "minor basilica" (basiliсa minoris). This honorific title for the temple is assigned by the Vatican only to special temples on very rare occasions, in order to emphasize the extremely important role of the church for Catholics. There are only 5 large basilicas (only in Rome and Jerusalem).
In the side chapel of the church, built in 1643, there is a unique altar with paintings and 20 sculptures.
The dimensions of this huge temple are amazing. It is 50 meters wide and 62 meters long. Such a space can not only accommodate a large number of believers, but also has a very special acoustics. The church organ sounds amazingly beautiful and heartfelt in the church.
