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The upper
temple
To build the Shrine, as desired by the Bishops of
Sicily, an international competition was held. One
hundred architects from 17 nations participated. The
winners of the competition were two French
architects, Michel Andrault and Pierre Parat.
The upper temple, begun in 1989, was inaugurated
November 6, 1994 by His Holiness John Paul II,
invited by the current Archbishop of Syracuse, HE
Giuseppe Costanzo.
The Shrine is about 103 meters tall; 94.3 meters
from the upper temple floor. The Shrine, chapels
excluded, it has a diameter of 71.40 meters. It can
hold about 11,000 people standing and about 6,000
sitting.
The form is subject to various interpretations. The
architects proposed to structurally represent the
concept and the sense of the elevation of humanity
towards God. In fact, the plan with its circularity
represents all of humanity, that little by little,
thanks to the rising columns and the increasing
light intensity, reaches up to God. Other
significant attributes of its form are those of: a
beacon, identifiable with Mary who leads to the port
which is Jesus; the mantle, under which our Mother
welcomes her sons to lead them towards the Father:
the tear descending from above.
The immense and solemn “hall,” is paved with
precious marble which reproduces a star: Mary the
Morning Star who announces the Rising Sun, Jesus. |
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The
Presbytery
LThe circularity of the one immense room finds unity
and harmonious convergence, for the gaze of the eye,
in the precious white “Lasa” marble which emerges,
almost in a monobloc, and which elevates little by
little and step by step to the altar and to the wall
which spreads out to hold and present the
silver-framed hollow in which the miraculous image
of Our Lady of Tears is kept.
Above the altar is a precious Crucifix from the
1700’s.
The altar, created by Giancarlo Marchese has as
solid bronze base subdivided in four panels
representing scenes from the book of Apocalypse. The
elements put into evidence are: 1. the throne; 2.
the new Jerusalem; 3. the Lamb, and to the right,
the Tree of Life; 4. the Column, and to the right,
the Scroll. The altar table is of stone from Modica.
Around the altar is the inscription in Greek:
“Christ loved the Church and sacrificed himself for
her” (Eph. 5:25).
This
work is entitled “New Heavens, New Earth” since it
intends to express the conclusion of history and the
return of Jesus |
The
Chapels
In the Shrine are 16 chapels. Facing the altar, to
the left is the Blessed Sacrament Chapel; to the
right, the chapel in which the reliquary of the
tears is exposed for the veneration of the faithful
on Sundays and feast days. Next to it is the chapel
dedicated to St. Joseph with a wooden statue. |
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The
Door
A majestic bronze door welcomes the faithful, work
of the sculptor Giacomo Albano, representing the
gates of a sheepfold with an inscription in Greek
from the Gospel of St. John (10:9). Upon the outside:
“I am the gate. Anyone who enters through me will be
safe;” and upon the inside: “he will come freely in
and out and be sure of finding pasture.” Jesus is
the gate that leads to the Father. |
The
Apex of the Shrine
At the apex of the Shrine one can observe, within
the circular rays, a bronze plated statue of the
Blessed Mother giving a three dimensional form to
the image that wept. It is about 3 meters tall and
weighs about 600 kilograms. It was designed by
Francesco Caldarella and is represented with the
arms open toward the principal gate of the Shrine,
to welcome her sons into the house of the Father. |
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