The neo-Gothic church was built by Hilger Hertel the Elder from 1858 to 1864 according to plans by Vincenz Statz. The four-storey, 90 m high west tower was not built until 1883/84. Friedrich Stummel and his students painted the choirs and the transept in splendid colors at the turn of the century.
In 1991, a restoration was completed with the interior painting based on Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and thus one of the most colorful church rooms in the Rhineland was restored. The original stained glass windows, which had been replaced by new ones from 1946, were lost as a result of extensive war damage. Part of it was designed by the Weezer artist Hans Mennekes.
Today's bronze portal of the church was made by the woodcutter and sculptor Willi Dirx.
In 1884, Pope Leo XIII. Pastor Joseph von Ackeren and his successors had the privilege of giving the Apostolic Blessing four times a year in his place. Today in Kevelaer, as the only German-speaking place, this apostolic blessing is donated by the pastor or a bishop who is present on the feast days of the Visitation of Mary, the Assumption of Mary, the Nativity of Mary and All Saints' Day.
In 1923 the church was raised to the status of a papal minor basilica.
Source: wikipedia.org