Santiago de Cuba Cathedral
The Cathedral of Santiago de Cuba or Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption ( Spanish Catedral Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción ) is a Roman Catholic church in the center of the city of Santiago de Cuba on the south side of Parque Céspedes. As a cathedral, it is the seat of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba and also has the title of a minor basilica . The church, consecrated to the Assumption of Mary , has been severely damaged by earthquakes and pirate looting since the 16th century and has been rebuilt in a different form.
Predecessor churches
At the beginning of the Spanish colonization of Cuba , the first church in Santiago was built on a hill in 1514 and was consecrated to St. Catalina. For the diocese founded in 1518, the parish church of the then capital Santiago de Cuba, called the Hermitage of Santa Catalina, was built by Pope Hadrian VI. declared a cathedral. A new wooden building in a location unknown today was completed in 1526, but destroyed by fire the following year.
The construction of the first cathedral at the current location began in 1528 under Bishop Miguel Ramírez de Salamanca and was consecrated in 1555 with the patronage of the Assumption. As early as 1562 this stone church was destroyed by French Flibustier for the first time to the point that it was no longer usable, again in 1586 and 1603, the consequences of the fire that was set in the process could only be removed and the church used again in 1628. In 1653 the main chapel was built at the expense of Juan Alvarez Salgado. The pirates Henry Morgan and Dolleys looted everything down to the church bells in 1662. Reconstruction of the Second Cathedral began in 1672 with the property of the Church of Jamaica, which was English owned; on February 24, 1674 the church could be consecrated. But an earthquake that same year damaged the church considerably. The church was then completely destroyed by a hurricane and the earthquake of 1679.
In 1686, Bishop Diego Aselino de Compostela began the construction of a new building, which was consecrated before completion in 1690. One of the most violent earthquakes in Santiago de Cuba on June 11, 1766 turned the main and side aisles into ruins.
Today's cathedral
On August 15, 1810, the foundation stone of the fourth and present cathedral of Santiago de Cuba was laid. It was oriented from north to south and built with five aisles on over 2000 square meters. The work lasted eight years and was completed on April 24, 1818. The earthquake of August 20, 1852 mainly damaged the side aisles, which could soon be repaired. In 1922, under Archbishop Felice Ambrogio Guerra Fezza , the cathedral was extensively restored by the architect Segrera and the two bell towers received.
In 1882 the cathedral received from Pope Leo XIII. additionally awarded the title Basilica minor and was declared a national monument of Cuba in 1958 . Pope Francis visited the cathedral on September 22, 2015.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Basílica Metropolitana Iglesia Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción on gcatholic.org
- ↑ a b Cathedral Asuncion on santiagodecubacity.org
- ↑ Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción on bilderreisen.at
Coordinates: 20 ° 1 ′ 14.2 " N , 75 ° 49 ′ 45.8" W.