History & Significance
Basilica · Est. Dedicated August 15, 1951 (parish founded 1942; original church 1905)
The Basilica of Regina Pacis (Latin for "Queen of Peace") is a Roman Catholic church in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York, serving the Diocese of Brooklyn. Pastor Msgr. Angelo R. Cioffi initiated it at a May 1942 Mass, urging parishioners to build a shrine to Mary as Queen of Peace for the safe return of servicemen during World War II; ground was broken in 1948 and the Italian Renaissance Revival church was dedicated on August 15, 1951. It was famously the site of two thefts of its jeweled Madonna crowns (1952 and 1973), both recovered. In November 2012 the Holy See designated it a minor basilica, inaugurated by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio on December 8, 2012.
Italian Renaissance Revival
- •Serves the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, in the Bensonhurst neighborhood
- •Founded as a WWII peace shrine by Msgr. Angelo R. Cioffi (vow made May 1942)
- •Dedicated August 15, 1951, after groundbreaking on October 3, 1948
- •Designated a minor basilica in November 2012; inaugurated December 8, 2012 by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio
- •Site of two notable thefts (1952 and 1973) of the jeweled crowns from its Madonna image, both later recovered
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