page_title: Rosary Basilica
section_title: Nave
hierarchical_section_title: Rosary Basilica / Nave
caption_attribution_description: The interior of the dome of the Rosary Basilica, in the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, France. Kodak DX6490 digital camera.
context_page_description: The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica within the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Its main theme is a celebration and depiction of the Rosary.
context_section_description: The nave is open and circular, surmounted by a dome. The dome contains sixteen circular stained glass windows. The fifteen spaces between these windows signify the fifteen decades of the traditional rosary.
  The nave is surrounded by fifteen smaller side chapels, one for each of the traditional Mysteries of the Rosary. On the left of the nave are found the Joyful Mysteries; in the centre behind the sanctuary are the Sorrowful Mysteries, and to the right are the Glorious Mysteries.
  Each side-chapel comprises a large mosaic with a central image depicting the theme of that Mystery, and an inscription in Latin. Incorporated within the larger image may be smaller images of related themes. For example, the side chapel directly behind the altar contains a depiction of the Crowning with Thorns, which is surmounted by an image of the Ark of the Covenant (see figure).
  Most of the mosaics bear a date of around 1900. In each side-chapel is a small altar bearing six candles.
  In the upper wall of the sanctuary is a mosaic depicting Mary with outstretched arms and the caption Par Marie à Jésus ("Through Mary to Jesus"). This depiction, of a very young woman facing directly forwards, is much more in keeping with Bernadette's descriptions of the apparition than the iconic statue in the niche in the Grotto.
  The exterior of the dome is surmounted by a dramatic gilded crown and cross, which were a gift from the People of Ireland in 1924. The cross was regilded in 2000-2.
caption: Interior view of the dome
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