Our Lady of Guadalupe Unfinished Cathedral
Encyclopedia
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a gothic revival Catholic cathedral
Cathedral
A cathedral is a Christian church that contains the seat of a bishop...

 located in Zamora, Michoacán
Zamora, Michoacán
Zamora de Hidalgo, is a city in the Mexican state of Michoacán. The 2010 census population was 141,627. making it the third largest city in the state. The city is the municipal seat of Zamora Municipality, which has an area of 330.97 km² and includes many other smaller communities, the largest of...

, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

.

History

The cornerstone
Cornerstone
The cornerstone concept is derived from the first stone set in the construction of a masonry foundation, important since all other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entire structure.Over time a cornerstone became a ceremonial masonry stone, or...

 of the cathedral was laid on February 2, 1898, the feast of Candlemas, by the second bishop of Zamora
Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora in Mexico
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Morelia.-Ordinaries:*José Antonio de la Peña y Navarro *José María Cázares y Martínez...

, Don
Don (honorific)
Don, from Latin dominus, is an honorific in Spanish , Portuguese , and Italian . The female equivalent is Doña , Dona , and Donna , abbreviated "Dª" or simply "D."-Usage:...

 Jose Ma. Càzares y Martinez
Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora in Mexico
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Morelia.-Ordinaries:*José Antonio de la Peña y Navarro *José María Cázares y Martínez...

. The architectural plan is attributed to the Zamoran architect Jesús Hernández Segura. The diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 had been established in 1862 and needed a cathedral.

Beginning

The construction started in 1898, with a crew of more than 300 men working on the site. It was designed in the neogothic, or gothic revival style with an unusual twist, a dome over the crossing
Crossing (architecture)
A crossing, in ecclesiastical architecture, is the junction of the four arms of a cruciform church.In a typically oriented church , the crossing gives access to the nave on the west, the transept arms on the north and south, and the choir on the east.The crossing is sometimes surmounted by a tower...

. The cathedral would contain 5 extensive naves
Navès
Navès is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France.-Geography:The Thoré forms most of the commune's north-eastern border, then flows into the Agout, which forms part of its northern border.-References:*...

, 4 of which had been roofed over by the end of 1910; vast amounts of quarry stone were required in order to accelerate the work.

Abandonment

The Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...

 brought problems to Zamora, and to the country as a whole. In 1914 the work of construction was suspended due to the revolution and later, the Cristero War, for an indefinite time.

During the intervening years, only half of the cathedral was complete, including 4 of the naves, and all the pillars were in place. Unfortunately, due to the continuing conflict, the original drafts were lost; all that remained were a drawing of the original facade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....

 and a general plan of construction. Also, much of the original quarry stone disappeared, and the cathedral was damaged when the army decided to use one of the stone walls as a place of execution; many died by firing squad for their faith. The evidence still exists in the form of hundreds of bullet holes etched in the wall; a silent memorial to those who died there.

Reconstruction

After many fits and starts, in 1988 His Excellency Josè E. Jiménez Robles
Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora in Mexico
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zamora is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Morelia.-Ordinaries:*José Antonio de la Peña y Navarro *José María Cázares y Martínez...

, eighth bishop of Zamora, was able to plan for restarting construction and in 1989, it was decided to dedicate the building to Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe , also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe is a celebrated Catholic icon of the Virgin Mary.According to tradition, on December 9, 1531 Juan Diego, a simple indigenous peasant, had a vision of a young woman while he was on a hill in the Tepeyac desert, near Mexico City. The lady...

. Its completion seemed almost impossible to him; the lack of economic resources and the time needed to complete the project being the most daunting tasks. He only knew that he and the faithful were up against a difficult but noble task.

The work of reconstruction began in 1990, with a new facade instead of what was originally planned, and bearing a resemblance to the gothic cathedral in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

. A spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....

 was placed at the crossing instead of the planned dome, this being an element more in keeping with pure gothic architecture. The walls were cleaned of debris then cracks were repaired and the walls reinforced. The towers were redesigned to make them more spacious and the patio was paved in order to lend greater stability to the building.

The Sanctuary today

At the moment, construction is on the verge of completion and last details are being finished. The organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...

, by Alexander Schuke Orgelbau of Potsdam
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, is complete and was installed early in 2009. With the newly installed spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....

s, the tower
Tower
A tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....

s now reach a height of 105 meters. The inner illumination is completely finished and in niches on the pillars, images of the saints have been placed, with plaques with their respective names underneath.

External links

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