Our Lady of Mercy Cathedral - La Serena, Chile - Cathedrals on Waymarking.com

Our Lady of Mercy is the Cathedral of the Archdiocese of La Serena. It is the largest temple in the city, and one of the cathedrals of Chile.

In its land, there was the Old Parish La Matriz-El Sagrario, which stands as the first temple for the foundation of La Serena in 1549.

In 1741 the church of the Matrix was described as a building of only one nave, 50 meters long by 10 meters wide, had 7 altars inside and a medium-height tower to the right. Its walls were limestone slab with its stones settled in a mixture of sand and lime. In 1840 the church of the Matrix was demolished, and in 1844 the construction of the current Cathedral began using many of the materials of the old construction, commissioning the project to the French architect Juan Herbage.

Built-in neoclassical style, it measures 60 meters in length by 20 meters wide, with 3 central bodies.

The upper part of the current tower was designed and projected by the French architect Eugenio Joannon in 1912.

The structure is made of limestone walls carved from Peñuelas in ashlars and lime mortar, and the foundations are stone without edging. The columns are made of wood, stuccoed now, with cement mortar and ground limestone. In the skies of the 3 ships, there are 3 barrel vaults armed with boards and beautifully painted with false finishes alluding to over-reliefs. It should be noted that the images of these decorations of the vaults were never finished; today you can see the "spaces" where some biblical and holy scenes would be. The floor is black and white marble arranged as on the chessboard. The roof armor is made of wood and its cover is made of galvanized iron.2 Similarly, the stained glass windows were imported from France in the time of monsignor Fontecilla. In addition, it has 2 marble altars and 4 side altarpieces made of wood.

In the apse, is the great tubular organ Lois Debierre donated by the Serenense philanthropist Juana Ross de Edwards. The current bell tower (the third) dates from the twentieth century.

The cathedral was declared a National Monument on February 12, 1981.

In front of the staircase of the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, there is the underground access to the Crypt of the Bishops and Archbishops of La Serena. Similarly, in the Cathedral lie the remains of Francisco de Aguirre, founder of the city, and other public figures of the time.

Source: Wikipedia (visit link)

Address: Gregorio Cordovez 327, La Serena, Región de Coquimbo, Chile Religious affiliation: Catholism Date founded or constructed: 1844 Web site: [Web Link]

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