The Chapel of Santa Cruz is a chapel in Oran, built on the Aïdour below the Santa-Cruz fort, named in honor of the Marquis of Santa Cruz. It falls under the Diocese of Oran.
History
In 1849, a cholera epidemic broke out and affected the entire city of Oran, claiming 1,172 victims. General Pelissier, commanding the French forces, then suggested to the Vicar General of Algiers, Abbé Suchet, to install a statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of the mountain where the Santa-Cruz fort is located. On November 4, during a procession, thousands of faithful implored the Virgin to save them from the scourge that had struck the city. The rain then began to fall abundantly. After a few days, the epidemic became less virulent and eventually ceased.
A small chapel displaying a statue of the Virgin Mary was built in 1850 to commemorate this event, known as the “miracle of the rain” of November 4, 1849. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Salvation. It was rebuilt in 1851 following the collapse of the vault. M Callot, the first bishop of Oran (1867-1875), wanted to build a more dignified church than this small oratory. But in the aftermath of the disasters of 1870, he could only complete the bell tower, with the first stone laid on February 10, 1873, and a statue of the Virgin, a replica of that of Our Lady of Fourvière in Lyon, was installed on the tower on December 6 of the same year. The bell of the tower, weighing 1,178 kg , cast in the Burdin workshops in Lyon, was installed on .
In 1950, the project of architect Lesaint began, which planned for a cloister and a small Romanesque basilica with a slightly flattened dome, in the presence of M Roncalli, apostolic nuncio, and future Pope John XXIII. This project, approved by the French Navy, replaced a more grandiose and overwhelming one imagined by the Bishop of Oran, M Durand in 1942. The navy formally opposed this first project, which disfigured the profile of the hill.
The old chapel at the foot of the bell tower was demolished in 1951 at the beginning of the construction work on the cloister, which was completed in 1956. On Sunday, May 3, 1959, Bishop of Oran Bertrand Lacaste solemnly blessed the first stone of the basilica; it was an ancient Christian stele from Albulae ( Aïn Témouchent ). The “basilica” was completed in early November of the same year and dedicated to worship on .
View of the Chapel of Santa Cruz
Since its inauguration over a century and a half ago, “Our Lady of Salvation,” also called “the Virgin of Oranie,” has attracted many faithful and visitors, in thanks for her intercession in stopping the cholera epidemic of 1849 or to ask for the fulfillment of their wishes. The site offers a remarkable view of the bay and the city of Oran to the east and the harbor of Mers El-Kébir to the northwest.
The chapel was classified as a national monument on .
In December 2014, it was decided to restore the Chapel of Santa Cruz, which was cracked and structurally threatened. This restoration project, carried out by the diocese with the support of the Algerian authorities and other sponsors, with a budget estimated at 600 million dinars (about six million euros), was entrusted to the French architect Xavier David. After four years of work, the Chapel of Santa Cruz was restored and reopened in 2018.
On , the ceremony of beatification of the nineteen religious assassinated between 1994 and 1996 during the Algerian Civil War took place there.
Statues
Bronze Virgin of Santa Cruz
Following the massacre of July 5, 1962, in Oran, at the request of the expatriated Pieds-noirs, the statue of the Virgin, which was present in the Chapel of Santa Cruz in Oran, was repatriated to France, in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Santa Cruz in Nîmes. Every year, on Ascension Day, the Pieds-Noirs community of Nîmes goes there on pilgrimage.
An old bronze statue of the Virgin was placed in a room at the edge of the cloister, closed by a gate, for protection.
The Chapel of Santa Cruz is a chapel in Oran, built on the Aïdour below the Santa-Cruz fort, named in honor of the Marquis of Santa Cruz. It falls under the Diocese of Oran.
History
In 1849, a cholera epidemic broke out and affected the entire city of Oran, claiming 1,172 victims. General Pelissier, commanding the French forces, then suggested to the Vicar General of Algiers, Abbé Suchet, to install a statue of the Virgin Mary at the top of the mountain where the Santa-Cruz fort is located. On November 4, during a procession, thousands of faithful implored the Virgin to save them from the scourge that had struck the city. The rain then began to fall abundantly. After a few days, the epidemic became less virulent and eventually ceased.
A small chapel displaying a statue of the Virgin Mary was built in 1850 to commemorate this event, known as the “miracle of the rain” of November 4, 1849. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Salvation. It was rebuilt in 1851 following the collapse of the vault. M Callot, the first bishop of Oran (1867-1875), wanted to build a more dignified church than this small oratory. But in the aftermath of the disasters of 1870, he could only complete the bell tower, with the first stone laid on February 10, 1873, and a statue of the Virgin, a replica of that of Our Lady of Fourvière in Lyon, was installed on the tower on December 6 of the same year. The bell of the tower, weighing 1,178 kg , cast in the Burdin workshops in Lyon, was installed on .
In 1950, the project of architect Lesaint began, which planned for a cloister and a small Romanesque basilica with a slightly flattened dome, in the presence of M Roncalli, apostolic nuncio, and future Pope John XXIII. This project, approved by the French Navy, replaced a more grandiose and overwhelming one imagined by the Bishop of Oran, M Durand in 1942. The navy formally opposed this first project, which disfigured the profile of the hill.
The old chapel at the foot of the bell tower was demolished in 1951 at the beginning of the construction work on the cloister, which was completed in 1956. On Sunday, May 3, 1959, Bishop of Oran Bertrand Lacaste solemnly blessed the first stone of the basilica; it was an ancient Christian stele from Albulae ( Aïn Témouchent ). The “basilica” was completed in early November of the same year and dedicated to worship on .
View of the Chapel of Santa Cruz
Since its inauguration over a century and a half ago, “Our Lady of Salvation,” also called “the Virgin of Oranie,” has attracted many faithful and visitors, in thanks for her intercession in stopping the cholera epidemic of 1849 or to ask for the fulfillment of their wishes. The site offers a remarkable view of the bay and the city of Oran to the east and the harbor of Mers El-Kébir to the northwest.
The chapel was classified as a national monument on .
In December 2014, it was decided to restore the Chapel of Santa Cruz, which was cracked and structurally threatened. This restoration project, carried out by the diocese with the support of the Algerian authorities and other sponsors, with a budget estimated at 600 million dinars (about six million euros), was entrusted to the French architect Xavier David. After four years of work, the Chapel of Santa Cruz was restored and reopened in 2018.
On , the ceremony of beatification of the nineteen religious assassinated between 1994 and 1996 during the Algerian Civil War took place there.
Statues
Bronze Virgin of Santa Cruz
Following the massacre of July 5, 1962, in Oran, at the request of the expatriated Pieds-noirs, the statue of the Virgin, which was present in the Chapel of Santa Cruz in Oran, was repatriated to France, in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Santa Cruz in Nîmes. Every year, on Ascension Day, the Pieds-Noirs community of Nîmes goes there on pilgrimage.
An old bronze statue of the Virgin was placed in a room at the edge of the cloister, closed by a gate, for protection.
