Kevelaer is one of the most famous and largest Marian pilgrimage sites in Germany. Probably the most important date for the history of the city is June 1, 1642. Just before Christmas 1641, at the crossroads of the old trade routes Amsterdam-Cologne and Münster-Brussels, the Geldrian merchant Hendrick Busman heard three times the mysterious cry: "On this spot you shall build me a little chapel!".Triggered by these events, he made the decision to heed the call and to built a shrine on that location.

The shrine, later Chapel of Mercy, became a very popular pilgrimage site. When it couldn’t any longer accommodate the numerous pilgrims the Marienbasilika (Basilica of Mary) was built. The neo-Gothic church building was built between 1858 and 1864, whre the larger holy masses are celebrated. In 1923, the pilgrimage church was elevated to the status of a Papal Basilica.

Around the turn of the century, the exceptionally colorful painting of the transept and the choir followed. The organ of the Marienbasilika , with its 135 registers, is the largest German-Romantic organ in the world. The 90 meter high tower of the church dates from 1884.