Concept in Definition ABC

Some temples or religious places are known as shrines. They exist in most religions, such as Christian, Islamic or Buddhist. As a general criterion, the faithful go to them on pilgrimage with the purpose of strengthening their beliefs or with some specific objective, such as asking for the healing of a disease or comply with a religious precept.

They are places that have an important component symbolic, because events of great relevance have occurred in them, such as miracles, apparitions, Marian invocations or historical events with a dimension spiritual. Sometimes these places contain the relics of a saint or a Leader religious.

The sanctuary of Fatima is a holy place for Catholics

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary of Fatima is located in Portugal. It was built in 1917 after the appearance of the Virgin Mary to three kids shepherds to whom the Virgin communicated her wish that a chapel be built in that place. Since then the influx of pilgrims from around the world has been constant and it is estimated that each year the place is visited by five million people. On August 13, a great pilgrimage dedicated to emigrants takes place.

In Indonesia is the largest Buddhist shrine in the world

On the island of Java is the Borobudor temple dedicated to Buddha. The galleries of the temple stretch for five kilometers. This sanctuary was built between the 18th and 19th centuries and is believed to have been built as representation of the cosmology buddhist. The monumental complex represents the general vision of the world in Buddhism: the base of the temple symbolizes the world of desire, higher up is the world of forms and the upper level represents the world without shapes.

In the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia is the main sanctuary of Islam

In this sanctuary the figure of Allah, the god of Islam, is worshiped. The faithful flock to him on pilgrimage and show their faith by circling around a large cube known as the Kaaba. In one of the corners of the cube there is a black stone and according to the tradition Islamic is a meteorite who would have come to Earth from a heavenly paradise.

The pilgrimage is mandatory for Muslims. In fact, it is one of the five pillars of Islam. The remaining four obligations are as follows: fasting, charity, prayer, and profession of faith.

In a non-religious sense

The word sanctuary is not always used in the religious context. Thus, for a Real Madrid fan, the Santiago Bernabeu stadium is a sanctuary for football.

In the United States, the concept of "sanctuary cities" has been coined to refer to cities in which people are helped. illegal immigrants so that they can regularize their situation (some of these cities are New York, Chicago, Detroit or San Francisco).

Photo: Fotolia - Demerzel21 / Patrick