Venezuela

The Catholic national shrine of Venezuela near Guanare, built on the spot where tradition holds that the Virgin Mary appeared to Chief Coromoto on September 8, 1652 and left a 27 x 22 mm sacred image, consecrated in 1996 and elevated to a minor basilica by decree in 2006 and proclaimed in 2007.

Minor Basilica (basilica minor, decree 2006, proclaimed 2007), National ShrineSector Quebrada de la Virgen, Coromoto, cách Guanare khoảng 25 km, Portuguesa

Photo: AndreaMaramara, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The second-largest mosque in Latin America, rising along Avenida Libertador in the Quebrada Honda district of central Caracas; designed by Venezuelan architect Oscar Bracho in 1989 and inaugurated in March 1993 with support from the Sheikh Ibrahim Bin Abdulaziz Al-Ibrahim Foundation, the 5,000-square-meter complex accommodates 3,500 worshippers beneath a 23-meter dome and a soaring 113-meter minaret, the tallest in the Western Hemisphere, standing along Caracas's celebrated interfaith corridor near the Tiferet Israel Synagogue.

Second-Largest Mosque in Latin America, Tallest Minaret in the Americas (113 Meters), and Principal Islamic Cultural Center of CaracasAvenida Libertador, Quebrada Honda Precinct, El Recreo Parish, Libertador Municipality, Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Photo: Jesús Rincón, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The historic mother synagogue of Caracas's Sephardic Jewish community and headquarters of the Asociacion Israelita de Venezuela (founded in 1930), erected in the Mariperez district between 1956 and 1963 after the earlier El Conde synagogue made way for Avenida Bolivar, renowned for its monumental cylindrical modernist rotunda crowned with the Tablets of the Ten Commandments and standing just blocks from the Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Ibrahim Mosque.

Central Synagogue and Headquarters of the Israelite Association of Venezuela (Asociacion Israelita de Venezuela, Founded 1930) and Historic Landmark of Sephardic Judaism in CaracasAvenida Mariperez (between Paseo Colon and Avenida Libertador), Mariperez Precinct, El Recreo Parish, Libertador Municipality, Caracas, Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Photo: Auxi84, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The monumental Marian basilica presiding over the western end of Paseo Ciencias in the historic El Saladillo quarter of Maracaibo near the shores of Lake Maracaibo; originating as the 1686 hermitage of Saint John of God, it enshrines the miraculous wooden tablet (La Tablita) of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquira (affectionately revered as La Chinita) that glowed with heavenly light on November 18, 1709, was elevated to a Minor Basilica in 1920, canonically crowned in 1942, and anchors Zulia's famous November Feria de La Chinita.

Pontifical Minor Basilica (Elevated by Pope Benedict XV in 1920), National Historic Monument of Venezuela, and Principal Marian Pilgrimage Sanctuary of Western VenezuelaWestern end of Paseo Ciencias at Avenida 12 (Padre Anez), Historic El Saladillo District (Chiquinquira Parish), Maracaibo, Zulia State, Northwestern Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Photo: Béria Lima de Rodríguez, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

The historic mother cathedral of Venezuela and seat of the first Catholic diocese established on the South American mainland by Pope Clement VII on June 21, 1531, standing on Plaza Bolivar in the UNESCO World Heritage earthen city of Santa Ana de Coro; constructed between 1583 and 1634 in austere Spanish Renaissance and Mudejar fortress style with a massive 29-meter watchtower-belfry designed to withstand Caribbean pirate raids, it is a Minor Basilica (1977) and the oldest surviving colonial church in Venezuela.

UNESCO World Heritage Landmark (Coro and its Port, Inscribed 1993), Seat of the First Catholic Diocese in Mainland South America (Founded June 21, 1531), Pontifical Minor Basilica (1977), and National Historic Monument (1960)Plaza Bolivar (between Calle Zamora and Calle Federacion), Historic Center of Santa Ana de Coro, Miranda Municipality, Falcon State, Northwestern Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Photo: Janethrodri, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons