The Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe, officially called Insigne y Nacional Basílica de Santa María de Guadalupe (in English: Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe) is a sanctuary of the Catholic Church, dedicated to the Virgin Mary in her invocation of Guadalupe, located at the foot of the Hill of Tepeyac in the Gustavo A. Madero borough of Mexico City. It belongs to the Primate Archdiocese of Mexico through the Guadalupana Vicariate, which since November 4, 2018, is in the care of Monsignor Salvador Martínez Ávila, who has the title of general and episcopal vicar of Guadalupe and abbot of the basilica. It is the most visited Marian precinct in the world, surpassed only by Saint Peter's Basilica. Every year some twenty million pilgrims visit the sanctuary, of which about nine million do so in the days around December 12, the day on which Saint Mary of Guadalupe is celebrated.​ Annually, the Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe has at least twice as many visitors as the best-known Marian shrines, making it an outstanding social and cultural phenomenon. History The temple known as the Old Basilica of Guadalupe was built by the architect Pedro de Arrieta, beginning its construction in March 1695. On May 1, 1709, it opened its doors, with a solemn novena. In 1749 it received the title of collegiate church, that is, without being a cathedral, it had its own chapter and an abbot. Its portal is freestanding and simulates a screen, the four octagonal towers on its corners (crowned with mosaics or azulejos of the type called Talavera yellow with blue border, the same as the dome of the transept) have a meaning associated with the New Jerusalem, the Golden Jerusalem, mentioned in the Apocalypse (Rev 21, 18). At the beginning of the 19th century, due to the construction of the Capuchine Convent, the collegiate church suffered serious damage to walls and vaults, for which it was necessary to restore the damage and for this reason redecorate the sanctuary in Neoclassical style, replacing the Baroque. In the sanctuary, the repairs began around 1804, not concluding until 1836. Between 1810 and 1822 the work was suspended due to the War of Independence. The design was made by Agustín Paz and executed by the Neoclassicist architect Manuel Tolsá. In 1904 the collegiate church was elevated to the rank of basilica. In times of the Cristero War a