Cathedral of San Juan Bautista
| Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of Saint John the Baptist Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Juan Bautista |
|
|---|---|
Front entrance
|
|
| Basic information | |
| Location | San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Geographic coordinates | 18°27′57″N 66°7′4″W / 18.46583°N 66.11778°WCoordinates: 18°27′57″N 66°7′4″W / 18.46583°N 66.11778°W |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church |
| Province | Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Neoclassical |
The Catedral Metropolitana Basílica de San Juan Bautista or in English, Cathedral of San Juan Bautista, is the Roman Catholic cathedral of the Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico. The cathedral is one of the oldest buildings in San Juan, located in Old San Juan, and is the second oldest cathedral in the Americas. Even though the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, is an older church building, the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista was the first cathedral church on the Western Hemisphere as San Juan, then known as the city of Puerto Rico, was the first diocese of the New World with bishop Don Alonso Manso in 1511.
The original cathedral in what was the city of Puerto Rico (changed to San Juan Bautista in 1521) was constructed from wood in 1521. It was destroyed by a hurricane and the current structure constructed in 1540, being reshaped in later centuries, the last time being in 1917.
The first school in Puerto Rico was the Escuela de gramática (Grammar School). The school was established by Bishop Alonso Manso in 1513, in the area where the cathedral would later be constructed. The school was free of charge and the courses taught were Latin language, literature, history, science, art, philosophy and theology.
The cathedral contains the tomb of the Spanish explorer and settlement founder Juan Ponce de León. It also has a shrine to the Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago, the first Puerto Rican, the first Caribbean-born layperson in history to be beatified.
...
Wikipedia