Werl pilgrimage

A pilgrimage to a statue of Mary in Werl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, caused the building of pilgrimage churches there. The first one, completed in 1662, was replaced by a Baroque building completed in 1789, which later became known as the Alte Wallfahrtskirche. When it became too small, an adjacent Wallfahrtsbasilika was built, dedicated to the Visitation. It was declared a Basilica minor in 1953.