Cathedral of Mayagüez
| Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria | |
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| Basic information | |
| Location |
Calle Candelaria, Plaza Colón, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico |
| Geographic coordinates | 18°12′04.00″N 67°08′17.68″W / 18.2011111°N 67.1382444°WCoordinates: 18°12′04.00″N 67°08′17.68″W / 18.2011111°N 67.1382444°W |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Country | United States of America |
| Year consecrated | 1763 |
| Status | active |
| Leadership | Mons. Alvaro Corrada del Rio |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Cathedral |
| Architectural style | Spanish Revival some Art Deco tones |
| Groundbreaking | 1763 |
| Completed | 2004 |
| Specifications | |
| Direction of façade | West |
| Length | 51.26m |
| Width | 23.54m |
The Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria or in English, Our Lady of the Candelaria Cathedral, is the cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mayagüez located in the eastern end of the Colón Main Square facing the town hall in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico.
The first Church at the current site was made of wood and was built in 1763, only three years after the founding of the city. The land was donated by Don Juan de Aponte and Don Juan de Silva; deed dated 1760 in San Germán. The plot was consecrated on August 21, 1760, and the first masonry building erected in 1780. The first Church in masonry presented a more classical line than the present architectural one. At the top of its frontispiece stood a great strait-flat pediment, mounted on six semi-pilastras and a narrow and long frieze. The Temple had two octagonal towers. Its architect was Vicente Piera and the approved drawings date back to 1833. On August 29, 1825 Doña Ama Mariana Bracetti Cuebas was baptized at the church and on April 12, 1839, Don Eugenio María de Hostos was also baptized there.
In 1854, a lightning-bolt struck and tore down a wedge-shaped corner of one of its right towers. The damaged tower was later rebuilt. Then in 1870, a full restoration of the building was performed. On November 10, 1900, Jose de Diego held his wedding ceremony at the church. The San Fermín earthquake on October 11, 1918, destroyed one of its towers and seriously affected the other, leaving what was left of the towers decimated. The remnant of the towers were demolished using dynamite. It was later resolved to build a second church; architect Don Luís Perocier was asked to create the plans; these were not fully accepted (1920). The church that was built departs only in its details and elements of the first plans of Mr Perocier, nevertheless they retained similar aesthetics. The previous plans, contained three doors with pointed arches and a fourth Gothic arch on the portico. The reconstruction was due to architect Don Luís f. Nieva and were started in 1922.
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