Mercedes Cathedral (Argentina)
The Cathedral of Mercedes or La Merced Cathedral Basilica ( Spanish: Catedral Basílica Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes ) is a church in the city of Mercedes , Buenos Aires Province , Argentina . The cathedral of the Archdiocese of Mercedes-Luján is consecrated under the invocation of Mary from the ransom of the prisoners to the Virgin Mary , it bears the titles of a minor basilica and a national historical monument . The neo-Gothic church, built between 1904 and 1922, was largely financed by the magnate Saturnino Unzué and his family.
history
The later settlement of Mercedes was built outside Buenos Aires in 1745 as a border fortress against the Indians. She received a chapel supervised by the Mercedarians . In 1801 a new church was built in front of the fortress, where the atrium of the cathedral stands today, it was given the patronage of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes and became a parish church in 1825. A new building followed in 1852.
With the growing city, the construction of today's church was planned from 1882. The project by the architect Jacques Dunant won a competition. The neo-Gothic building began in 1904 after the previous building was demolished. Two years later, the 73 meter high church tower with an 11 meter high cross was built, the slate had been brought from England. The work came to a standstill due to financial constraints. Instead of the previous small donors, the large landowner Saturnino Unzué and his family took over the financing of the church and rectory in 1913. The modified project was continued under the French architect Francisque Fleury Tronquoy, the vaults were built with reinforced concrete. The First World War prevented the necessary deliveries from Europe before the missing marble for the floor came from Italy in 1918. The bells were consecrated in 1920, and the church was consecrated in 1921 by Bishop Francisco Alberti in the presence of the provincial governor Camilo Crotto and many other dignitaries.
The interior of the three-aisled basilica was completed with four side altars from Italy and an organ from EF Walcker from Germany. In the 1930s, the crypt was built from Ethiopian marble as a burial place for the Unzué family. With the creation of the diocese of Mercedes, the church was elevated to a cathedral on April 20, 1934. In 1949 Pope Pius XII awarded the cathedral the title of minor basilica. The sacrament chapel was built in 2000, and in 2010 the cathedral received the status of a national monument .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Catedral Basílica Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes on gcatholic.org
- ↑ Decree 492/2010
- ↑ Catedral Metropolitana (Spanish)
Coordinates: 34 ° 39 ′ 4.8 ″ S , 59 ° 25 ′ 53.5 ″ W.