Basilica of Saint Plechelm

The basilica of St Plechelm (Dutch: Sint-Plechelmusbasiliek) is a Catholic church in the Dutch town of Oldenzaal dedicated to the 8th-century Irish monk Saint Plechelm, whose festival on 15 July has been on the calendar of the medieval diocese of Utrecht ever since his canonisation in the 10th century. This festival is still celebrated annually at the basilica, and the saint's 1050th anniversary was celebrated there in 2004. The pope granted it the title of minor basilica in 1950.

History

The oldest parts of the existing building date from the middle and the second half of the 12th century, but the history of the church goes back to the 8th century, when the traveling missionary Plechelmus founded the first church on the site, the Silvesterkerk, initially dedicated to pope Silvester and sometime before 954 rededicated to Plechelmus himself (canonised after the elevation of his relics). In 954, bishop Balderik of Utrecht founded a chapter in Oldenzaal and expanded and restored the 8th-century church, allowing the relics of Plechelmus used on his canonisation to be transferred to it. Since then had the Plechelmuskerk of Oldenzaal has had high status - for example, during the Middle Ages its chapter was one of only four outside Utrecht that could participate in electing the bishop of Utrecht.

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