CATEDRAL SAN CRISTOBAL

The interest of this cathedral is already in the history of its painful erection. In 1671, in the ceremonial act of the foundation of the «Nueva Barcelona del Dulce Number of Jesús» Don Sancho Fernández de Angulo y Sandoval, then governor and general captain of New Andalucía, remained a land for the priests of the two parish churches of Barcelona del Cerro Santo and San Cristóbal de los Cumanogotos. One year after this donation, the church is modestly constructed, with bahareque walls (earth and reed reinforcement), and a palm roof. Thirty-six years later, in 1708, the bishop of San Juan Puerto Rico on Pastoral Visit put Pressure to build a decent church in the image of the city (hard!). Let us start with the necessary steps. And it is still necessary to wait forty years for the builders to start the work of the new parish church in San Cristóbal. In 1760, construction was interrupted until 1765, following the death of the contractor Don José Duque. On 21 August 1766, only one year after the resumption of the project by José Samaniego, an earthquake destroyed part of the «cursed» church. Parishioners no longer want to believe it. It was Dr. Fernando Bastardo Loaiza who was then vicar of the church of his hometown which gave birth and motivates the troops with financial assistance from Carlos III. The altarpiece dates back to 1744, built by Don Diego Zapata, and the first two bells come from Barcelona (Spain). The cathedral houses the remains of the martyr and protector of the city, San Celestino, which Pope Pius VI sent Rome in 1777. The relics of the city's boss, visible in the left wing of the church, are still the subject of real devotion nowadays. You can convince yourself at the party dedicated to it at the beginning of May.