The Cathedral of San José de Cúcuta is a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
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 ...
in the city of
Cúcuta
Cúcuta (), officially San José de Cúcuta, is a Colombian municipality, capital of the department of Norte de Santander and nucleus of the Metropolitan Area of Cúcuta. The city is located in the homonymous valley, at the foot of the Eastern ...
(
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
). It lies in the center of the town, in front of
Santander Park and close to the city hall. It is considered to be the historic and cultural heart of the city. The cathedral is the headquarters of the Bishop of Cúcuta, and became the main church of the
Diocese of Cúcuta on May 29, 1959, when it was consecrated by Pope
Pio XII. It is predominantly of pure Romanesque style, with an imposing facade of stone veneer.
History
Not much is known about its construction. The foundation stone was laid on 12 May 1889, and the building commemorates the creation of the parish in 1734. The church was destroyed by the
1875 Cúcuta earthquake
The 1875 Cúcuta earthquake (also known as earthquake of the Andes) occurred on 18 May at 11:15 AM. It completely demolished Cúcuta, Villa del Rosario, Norte de Santander, Villa del Rosario (Colombia), San Antonio del Tachira and Capacho (Venez ...
. The restoration of the temple was demanded by the community of Cucuta, but due to economic difficulties and the rising conflict by the two principal parties in Colombia, its reconstruction was delayed by several years. It was only in 1905 that the recently elected priest Demetrio Mendoza decided to begin construction of the new temple.
In 1956 it was given the category of Cathedral of Diocese.
Inside are the remains of the First Bishop of Cúcuta Monseñor Luis Hernandez.
It is noteworthy that houses pictures of the painter cucuteño Salvador Moreno.
The 19 March 1920 (day of San José), opened the organ in this building, donated by Rudesindo Soto.
Gallery
Image:SANJOSE1.jpg, The church as built initially
Image:Interior_pre_terremoto.jpg, Church Interior before the earthquake
Image:Catedral1897.jpg, Old facade
Image:Cupula_detalle.jpg, Interior view of one of the domes
Image:Fiesta_san_jose.jpg, An ongoing Eucharistia
Image:Pedro_en_marmol.jpg, Figure of San pedro.
Image:Vitral_interno.jpg, Interior view from the entrance
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral of Cucuta
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Colombia
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1734
18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Colombia