Basilica of Mariazell

The Story

The Basilica of Mariazell, set in the mountains of Styria, is Austria's national shrine and one of the great Marian pilgrimage churches of Central Europe. Its story begins on December 21, 1157, when, according to the traditional account, a Benedictine monk named Magnus was sent from the Abbey of St. Lambrecht to care for the people of the region, carrying with him a small limewood statue of the Virgin and Child. Tradition holds that when a rock blocked the monk's path, he prayed to Our Lady and the rock split apart, allowing him to pass. He set the statue in a simple cell that served as chapel and dwelling — "Maria in der Zelle," Mary in the cell — from which the town of Mariazell takes its name. The Romanesque statuette, not quite fifty centimeters tall, became famous for graces attributed to Our Lady's intercession and is honored to this day as the Magna Mater Austriae, the Great Mother of Austria. Over the centuries the shrine drew emperors and peasants alike, and it remains a spiritual crossroads for Austrians, Hungarians, Czechs, Slovaks, Croatians, and Slovenians — a Marian mother-shrine for many peoples of Central Europe. The present church, Gothic in its core and splendidly enlarged in the Baroque era, holds the miraculous image in its Chapel of Grace. Mariazell belongs to the Shrines of Europe network of major Marian sanctuaries, and Pope Benedict XVI made a pilgrimage there in 2007 for the shrine's 850th anniversary. It welcomes on the order of a million pilgrims each year.

Church Recognition

Mariazell is a minor basilica entrusted to the Benedictines of St. Lambrecht since its founding; the shrine has enjoyed centuries of papal favor, including Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage for its 850th anniversary in 2007, and its statue of the Magna Mater Austriae is a long-recognized object of Church-sanctioned veneration.

Catholic Teaching

Devotion at Mariazell expresses the Church's teaching that Mary's motherly intercession leads believers to her Son (CCC 963–975); the shrine's history among many nations also witnesses to Mary as mother of all peoples in the one communion of the Church.

Plan Your Visit

Open only what you need. Expand all

Practical

1 Additional Information ▾

Home to the venerated Magna Mater Austriae statue.

Go Deeper

The official website of the Basilika Mariazell (https://www.basilika-mariazell.at) offers the shrine's history and pilgrimage information. See also the Catechism on Mary, Mother of the Church (CCC 963–975), and chapter VIII of Lumen Gentium.