Germany - Kevelaer, Gnadenkapelle

Kevelaer is one of the most famous and largest Marian pilgrimage sites in Germany. Probably the most important date for the history of the city is June 1, 1642. Just before Christmas 1641, at the crossroads of the old trade routes Amsterdam-Cologne and Münster-Brussels, the Geldrian merchant Hendrick Busman heard three times the mysterious cry: "On this spot you shall build me a little chapel".Triggered by these events, he made the decision to heed the call and to built a shrine on that location.

The chapel was consecrated and on 1 June 1642, the Sunday after Assumption of Mary, the print was displayed in it, and the chapel became such a popular destination for pilgrims that a church was built for them between 1643 and 1645. The little chapel was replaced in 1654 with a larger one, the current Gnadenkapelle (Chapel of Mercy or Chapel of Grace), which still houses the miraculous image “Consolatrix Afflictorum”.

The hexagonal domed building is one of the most visited Catholic pilgrimage sites in north-western Europe and has drawn pilgrims to Kevealer from all over the world for more than 360 years.