The Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (English: Cathedral of Our Lady of Guadalupe or simply Ponce Cathedral) is the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

for the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

located in downtown Ponce,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. The cathedral lies in the middle of Ponce's

town square A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true square, geometric square, used for community gathe ...

, known as

Plaza Las Delicias Plaza Las Delicias is the main plaza in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The square is notable for its fountains and for the various monuments it contains. The historic Parque de Bombas and Ponce Cathedral buildings are located within the plaza, ...

, located at the center of the

Ponce Historic Zone The Ponce Historic Zone (''La Zona Histórica de Ponce'') is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico, consisting of buildings and structures with architecture that date to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone go ...

. For its historic significance, the cathedral was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1984. It is the seat of the Bishop of Ponce, currently Rubén González Medina. The cathedral has a history that dates to 1670. It has been damaged several times by fires and earthquakes. It stands out among Puerto Rico's other four cathedrals for its intricate design. It has a large pipe organ that was played by

danza Danza is a musical genre that originated in Ponce, a city in southern Puerto Rico. It is a popular turn-of-the-twentieth-century ballroom dance genre slightly similar to the waltz. Both the danza and its cousin the contradanza are sequence danc ...

master and composer

Juan Morel Campos Juan Morel Campos (16 May 1857 – 12 May 1896), sometimes erroneously spelled ''Juan Morell Campos'', was a Puerto Rican composer, considered by many to be responsible for taking the genre of danza to its highest level. He composed over ...

. Architecturally, it is designed in the neoclassical style. Structurally, it follows a cruciform plan, with a large dome at the crossing. The interior consists of a main nave and two large aisles separated by a series of eight arcades. There are two small chapels in its interior. Two three-story square towers decorate the front facade.

History

The cathedral has over 300 years of history. In 1670, a small

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

was built in the center of the colonial settlement of Ponce on the site of the present cathedral. On September 17, 1692, the King of Spain,

Carlos II Charles II of Spain (''Spanish: Carlos II,'' 6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700), known as the Bewitched (''Spanish: El Hechizado''), was the last Habsburg ruler of the Spanish Empire. Best remembered for his physical disabilities and the War of ...

, issued a ''Cédula Real'' (Royal Permit) designating the chapel as a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. In 1835, the original parish church was demolished to build a larger church, which was completed and opened for worship in 1839. Among its new features were two octagonal towers on the corners of the front facade. The original (pre-1918) towers were also three stories high and had windows on each of the sides. They were each topped with a Christian cross. The cathedral contains a number of burials within its interior. It was among the first burial places in Ponce. However, in 1814 the practice was discontinued due to potential health risks on church worshipers, and based on the edict promulgated in 1784 by

King Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...

. On that year the first cemetery in the city located outside a religious structure was built at the block bounded by today's Calle Victoria, Union, Vives and Mendez Vigo. That block is now (2019) occupied by the

Terminal de Transportación Pública Carlos Garay Terminal de Transportación Pública Carlos Garay (''Carlos Garay Public Transportation Terminal''), formerly, Terminal de Carros Públicos Carlos Garay (''Carlos Garay Carros Públicos Terminal''), is a public transportation terminal for share ...

Ponce Cathedral with original facade, circa 1910

The building was damaged by several fires and

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

s during the 19th and 20th centuries including the

1918 San Fermín earthquake The 1918 San Fermín earthquake, also known as the Puerto Rico earthquake of 1918, struck the island of Puerto Rico at on October 11. The earthquake measured 7.1 on the moment magnitude scale and IX (''Violent'') on the Mercalli intensity scale ...

, which caused extensive damage, including the destruction of both of the original towers. Despite this, the 1839 building forms the core of the present building, which

Pope Pius XI Pope Pius XI ( it, Pio XI), born Ambrogio Damiano Achille Ratti (; 31 May 1857 – 10 February 1939), was head of the Catholic Church from 6 February 1922 to his death in February 1939. He was the first sovereign of Vatican City fro ...

declared a

in 1924. The cathedral's first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

was

Edwin Byrne Edwin Vincent Byrne (August 9, 1891 – July 26, 1963) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served in Puerto Rico, as Bishop of Ponce (1925–1929) and Bishop of San Juan (1929–1943), before returning to the United St ...

, who took charge in 1925. From 1931 to 1937, the church was reconstructed to a design by

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Francisco Porrata Doria Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

. The current facade bears a French neoclassical style. Among these improvements were the addition of two new chapels, a new roof, the remodelling of the upper storey of the facade and the construction of two new, richly decorated square towers. A

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...

was installed in 1934 and re-inaugurated in 1989 after a nine-year restoration. The building was dedicated by Bishop James E. McManus on April 11, 1950.''Ponce: Ciudad Señorial -- Atracciones Turisticas.''
Catedral Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Retrieved 7 January 2011.

Location

Plan of Plaza Las Delicias in Ponce, Puerto Rico

The cathedral sits in the center of Ponce's central square,

, oriented east-to-west, with its front entrance facing west. Immediately behind the cathedral, to the east, is the historic fire house,

Parque de Bombas The Parque de Bombas ( en, firehouse) is a historic former fire station in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is one of Puerto Rico's most notable buildings, with some considering it "by far the most easily recognized landmark in the Island." It is locate ...

. The two buildings effectively divide Plaza Las Delicias into two smaller plazas, named

Plaza Muñoz Rivera Plaza Muñoz Rivera, formally Plaza Luis Muñoz Rivera, is the smaller of the two plazas at Plaza Las Delicias in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. It is located on the north side of Plaza Las Delicias, north of the larger southern Plaza Degetau ...

and

Plaza Degetau Plaza Degetau, formally Plaza Federico Degetau, is the larger of two plazas at Plaza Las Delicias, the main city square in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The other plaza is named Plaza Muñoz Rivera and is located north of Plaza Degetau. The ...

. Low undulating walls line the cathedral's northern and southern sides, and serve to separate it from the Plazas. Plaza Las Delicias is in

barrio ''Barrio'' () is a Spanish language, Spanish word that means "Quarter (urban subdivision), quarter" or "neighborhood". In the modern Spanish language, it is generally defined as each area of a city, usually delimited by functional (e.g. residenti ...

Segundo, one of the six core barrios of Ponce that compose Historic Zone designated by the Government of Puerto Rico to preserve the colonial character of the city.

The building

The building's exterior architecture is Neoclassical, while its interior is mostly

colonial Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

and

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

. The current structure is larger than the 1839 structure, having been extended on the south side in 1911 with the addition of the side chapel. It covers an area of . The architecture of the cathedral is neoclassical in style with the exterior painted pale blue and gray and the interior in blue and beige. The building has many stained glass windows depicting religious scenes and two bell towers. Interior of Ponce Cathedral, Plaza Las Delicias, Barrio Segundo, Ponce, Puerto Rico (IMG 3124)

Interior of Ponce Cathedral, Plaza Las Delicias, Barrio Segundo, Ponce, Puerto Rico (IMG 3124)

Interior plan

The footprint of the cathedral is of a

cruciform Cruciform is a term for physical manifestations resembling a common cross or Christian cross. The label can be extended to architectural shapes, biology, art, and design. Cruciform architectural plan Christian churches are commonly described ...

plan. It features a large dome at the crossing of the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building withi ...

and the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. The interior consists of eight bays plus the

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an ''exedra''. In ...

. The westernmost bay accommodates the vestibule. Above this vestibule is a second level

choir loft A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, accessible via a wooden stairway connected to the front wall. A large pipe organ, said to have been played by

every Sunday for many years, is also on this second level loft. The cathedral measures 42.2m long by 19.4m wide. Arcades of semi-circular arches divide the nave from the

aisle An aisle is, in general, a space for walking with rows of non-walking spaces on both sides. Aisles with seating on both sides can be seen in airplanes, certain types of buildings, such as churches, cathedrals, synagogues, meeting halls, parl ...

s. On the south side of the cathedral, a large chapel, built in 1911, extends three bays parallel to the aisle. This chapel provides a more intimate place of worship than the main church or its aisles. The nave has a

cross vault A groin vault or groined vault (also sometimes known as a double barrel vault or cross vault) is produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults. Honour, H. and J. Fleming, (2009) ''A World History of Art''. 7th edn. London: Lau ...

ed ceiling with

clerestory In architecture, a clerestory ( ; , also clearstory, clearstorey, or overstorey) is a high section of wall that contains windows above eye level. Its purpose is to admit light, fresh air, or both. Historically, ''clerestory'' denoted an upper l ...

windows above the arcades. The cathedral's main neoclassical altar of translucent

alabaster Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...

is a modern replacement for the original wooden

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

altar, now located in the southern side chapel. The main altar, built in

Burgos, Spain Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

, was donated by the local Ferre family. Except for the side chapel where

terrazzo Terrazzo is a composite material, poured in place or precast, which is used for floor and wall treatments. It consists of chips of marble, quartz, granite, glass, or other suitable material, poured with a cementitious binder (for chemical bindi ...

is used, the cathedral's floor is of gray and white marble design. Ponce Cathedral pipe organ in Ponce, Puerto Rico (IMG 3136)

The front facade

The western front facade is flanked by two square towers. They are both three stories high topped with silver domes and a Christian cross on top of these. Both towers have windows at each level. Access to the towers is through either of two small wooden doors located in the interior northwest and southwest corners of the church vestibule. Entry to the cathedral is through a tall pair of wooden doors in a style reminiscent of church doors of

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Europe. There are two round columns to each side of these doors, as well as rectangular wooden windows to both sides. Atop the second level of the front facade there is a large triangular

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

, and on top of this pediment sits a Christian cross considerably larger than the two atop the tower domes. There are also two statues standing at each of the two lower ends of the large triangular pediment. Except for the wooden windows and doors, all elements on the front facade are of masonry construction.

Events

On December 12, the cathedral hosts the annual event known as "

Las Mañanitas "Las Mañanitas" is a traditional Mexican birthday song written by Mexican composer Alfonso Esparza Oteo. It is widely popular in Mexico, usually early in the morning to awaken the birthday person, also before eating cake, and especially as pa ...

", named after the Mexican birthday song (English: "Early Mornings"), which is sung during a pre-dawn religious procession in the downtown area to celebrate the day of the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

, the patron saint of Ponce. The event started in 1965. After the procession candle bearers attend

Holy Mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

at the Cathedral at 5:00 am. Up to 10,000 people attend the event. On 24 December there is also a midnight Mass known as ''Misa de Gallo'' (English: Rooster's Mass).

Hours

Except for the Las Mañanitas event, the cathedral is open Monday through Friday from 6:00 am to 12:30 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 6:00 am to 12:00 pm and from 3:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Damage

The building was damaged and temporarily closed as a result the 2020 Puerto Rico earthquakes.''Resumen daños en la Catedral de Ponce.''
Sandra Torres Guzmán. Primera Hora. 7 January 2020. Accessed 14 January 2020.

Gallery

Interior de Catedral de Ponce en Ponce, Puerto Rico 01.jpg, Interior in 2003 Interior de Catedral de Ponce en Ponce, Puerto Rico 03.jpg, Interior in 2003 Interior de Catedral de Ponce en Ponce, Puerto Rico 04.jpg, Statue of Christ

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Ponce
(Official Site in Spanish)

* "

Las mañanitas "Las Mañanitas" is a traditional Mexican birthday song written by Mexican composer Alfonso Esparza Oteo. It is widely popular in Mexico, usually early in the morning to awaken the birthday person, also before eating cake, and especially as pa ...

" at Spanish wikisource.
Postcard
Exterior of the cathedral before the earthquake of 1918.
1940s Postcard
Interior of Ponce Cathedral showing the altar before the Ferré donation.
Photo of Cathedral showing the towers before the 1918 earthquake.

Interior of the Cathedral circa 1910.

Picture of the Cathedral around 1911, looking southeast
Accessed 17 July 2020.
The Cathedral during its 1930s restoration

Interior of the Cathedral in the 1940s

Close up of the Cathedral's altar in the 1930s

Plaza Las Delicias (Muñoz Rivera side) looking west c. 1908

Youtube - Celebration of Las Mañanitas in Ponce, Puerto Rico
* . ''Historic Churches of Puerto Rico''. Puerto Rico State Historic Preservation Office and the Junghanns Collection, General Archives of P.R. c.1910.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, Listing Reference Number 84000467. 10 December 1984.
Catedrales Católicas del Mundo: Catedral de Ponce, Puerto Rico
(In Spanish. English title: Catholic Cathedrals of the World: Cathedral of Ponce, Puerto Rico.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Catedral de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (Ponce, Puerto Rico) Churches in Ponce, Puerto Rico Roman Catholic cathedrals in Puerto Rico 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Churches completed in 1839 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1835 National Register of Historic Places in Ponce, Puerto Rico Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico 1984 in Puerto Rico Spanish Colonial architecture in Puerto Rico Classical Revival architecture in Puerto Rico 1835 establishments in Puerto Rico Roman Catholic churches in Ponce, Puerto Rico