Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria (Mayagüez, Puerto Rico) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
 Location in Puerto Rico
|
|
| 18°12′04.00″N 67°08′17.68″W / 18.2011111°N 67.1382444°W | |
| Location | Calle Candelaria, Plaza Colón, Mayagüez, Puerto Rico |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| History | |
| Status | Cathedral |
| Consecrated | 1763 |
| Architecture | |
| Style | Spanish Revival some Art Deco tones |
| Groundbreaking | 1763 |
| Completed | 2004 |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 51.26m |
| Width | 23.54m |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Diocese of Mayagüez |
The Catedral Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria, also known as Our Lady of the Candelaria Cathedral, is a very important cathedral for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mayagüez. It is located in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. You can find it at the eastern end of the Colón Main Square, right across from the town hall.
History of the Cathedral
The first church on this spot was built in 1763. It was made of wood, just three years after the city of Mayagüez was founded. The land for the church was given by Don Juan de Aponte and Don Juan de Silva.
In 1780, a stronger building made of stone was built. This first stone church looked more classic than the one you see today. It had two towers with eight sides. Vicente Piera was the architect, and his plans were approved in 1833. Many important people were baptized here. For example, Doña Ama Mariana Bracetti Cuebas was baptized on August 29, 1825. Don Eugenio María de Hostos was also baptized here on April 12, 1839.
In 1854, one of the towers was damaged by a lightning bolt. It was later rebuilt. Then, in 1870, the whole building was repaired and made new again. On November 10, 1900, Jose de Diego had his wedding ceremony at this church.
A big earthquake, called the 1918 San Fermín earthquake, hit on October 11, 1918. It completely destroyed one tower and badly damaged the other. What was left of the towers had to be taken down with dynamite. After this, people decided to build a new church. Architect Don Luís Perocier made plans in 1920, but they were not fully used. The church that was built still looked similar to his ideas. The rebuilding started in 1922, led by architect Don Luís F. Nieva.
In 1976, Pope Paul VI allowed the creation of the Diocese of Mayagüez. Because of this, the church was soon made into a cathedral. A few years later, the first bishop of the city, Mons. Ulises Casiano Vargas, started a project to remodel the cathedral. He wanted it to look more like Perocier's original plan, including having two towers.
The architect for this big remodeling was Carlos Juan Ralat. The project cost $3.5 million and took about two years to finish. It was supposed to take only one year. However, there were delays because the roof was in bad shape. Also, old burial places, called crypts, were found. The remains of some of Mayagüez's founders, like Don Faustino Martínez and Don Lorenzo Martínez Matos, were found there. The newly remodeled cathedral reopened on January 1, 2004. Important people from the Vatican were there for the event.
Waters of Liberty
In the 1800s, two important people, Segundo Ruiz Belvis and Ramón Emeterio Betances, did something amazing at this church. They were part of "The Secret Abolitionist Society," which Betances started. They helped free thousands of enslaved Black children. This special event was known as "aguas de libertad," which means "waters of liberty." It happened at the cathedral's baptismal font.
Here is how it worked:
- Buying the freedom of an enslaved child cost 50 pesos if the child had already been baptized.
- It cost only 25 pesos if the child had not been baptized.
So, Betances, Ruiz Belvis, and others from the society would wait by the baptismal font on Sundays. They knew that slave owners would sometimes bring enslaved families to baptize their children. Before a child was baptized, Betances or his friends would give money to the parents. The parents would then use this money to buy their child's freedom from the owner. Once the child was free, they were baptized just minutes later. This act was called giving the child the "aguas de libertad" (waters of liberty).
The actual baptismal font where these special baptisms happened still exists today. It is owned by a local family of merchants, the Del Moral family, who keep it safe in their home in Mayagüez.
See also
- Catholic Church in Puerto Rico
- History of Mayagüez
- List of cathedrals in the United States
- List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Mayagüez
- Virgin of Candelaria
