A votive church (votive from the Latin votum 'vowed sacrifice, vows') is a church that was built as a votive offering, either as a sign of thanksgiving for salvation from an emergency or with a request for the fulfillment of a specific desire, and sometimes atonement (also known as an "expiatory chapel").
Often, the builder has previously made a vow to have the church built in the case of the prayer heard (takeover of the construction costs).
Votive churches also include so-called thanksgiving churches: (dubious-discuss)