The Templo Expiatorio del Santísimo Sacramento 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 ...

church dedicated to the

Blessed Sacrament The Blessed Sacrament, also Most Blessed Sacrament, is a devotional name to refer to the body and blood of Christ in the form of consecrated sacramental bread and wine at a celebration of the Eucharist. The term is used in the Latin Church of the ...

, located in Guadalajara, Jalisco,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. It is of

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style and is considered the greatest work of its kind in Mexico. Its construction began on August 15, 1897 and ended 75 years later in 1972.

History

The idea of building a temple dedicated to the

in the city of Guadalajara began in the late 19th century, when a congregation of Catholics formed a committee to make this temple. So the archbishop of the city, Pedro Loza y Pardavé, together with the commission organized a competition among some architects and engineers to select the project of the temple. The project selected was of the architect Adamo Boari, a famous Italian architect brought by then-President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz, who had earlier worked in the projects of the

Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and p ...

and the

Palacio de Correos de Mexico Palacio (''palace'') is a Spanish habitational name. It may have originated from many places in Spain, especially in Galicia and Asturies. Notable people with the surname include: *Agustina Palacio de Libarona (1825-1880), Argentine writer, story ...

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

.Adamo Boari
EPdLP The construction began with a ceremony hosted by Archbishop Pedro Loza y Pardavé and Pedro Romero. The cornerstone was laid on August 15, 1897, and by 1911 the interior columns were already finished. The canon Pedro Moreno and foreman Feliciano Arías were in charge of the project, of whom the latter was succeeded by his son Jerónimo Arías after his death. Work on the temple was suspended during the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

due to religious persecution, lack of guarantees and an economic crisis that the country faced as a result of the conflict. In February 1924, Pedro Romero died and it was assigned to the priest José Garibi Rivera the completion of the temple. He immediately asked engineer Luis Ugarte to assist him in the work. The construction boomed, and on January 6, 1927, the project was assigned to architect Ignacio Díaz Morales who oversaw the work until its completion in 1972.

The church

The temple's doors are made of granadilla wood, carved by Jesús Gómez Velazco, and they are incrusted with bronze high reliefs made by master Benito Castañeda. The three tympana on the church's facade are embellished with Italian mosaics created in the Vatican's Mosaic Factory. The central one represents the Paschal Lamb; the east, Saint Tarcisius; and the west, St. Pius X. They were designed by painter and expert on the Vatican Museums, Francisco Bencivenga, who also oversaw the placement of them. The church clock, imported from Germany has four lighted dials, and was brought along with a carillon of 25 bells playing 25 pieces both religious and popular music, such as: Ave María, the

Mexican National Anthem The "Mexican National Anthem" ( es, Himno Nacional Mexicano, nah, Mexihcaletepetlacuicalt), also known by its incipit "Mexicans, at the cry of war" ( es, Mexicanos, al grito de guerra), is the national anthem of Mexico. The anthem was first u ...

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 ...

, Guadalajara, Adiós Mariquita Linda, Las Golondrinas,

México Lindo y Querido "México lindo y querido" is a traditional mariachi and ranchera Mexican song written by Chucho Monge and made famous by singer Jorge Negrete ("the singing charro"). It is widely known throughout the Spanish-speaking world for its characterization ...

, and the

March of Zacatecas The "Marcha de Zacatecas" ( en, "March of Zacatecas") is a Mexican patriotic song that serves as the regional anthem of the Mexican state of Zacatecas. History In 1891, in a family gathering at the home of Fernando Villalpando, there was a bet be ...

. This chime can also be played from a keyboard in the choir. The cost of the clock was about 450 million pesos from 1972, (worth MXN$450,000 today), and was installed by German technicians. There is an interesting detail on the campanile which consists of miniature statues of the 12 apostles which rotate in and out of the tower whenever a musical piece is played. The church is made mostly of stone, carved as it was done in the Middle Ages. The huge, stained glass windows, including the rosette on the facade, were executed by Jacques and Gerard Degusseau of

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Maurice Rocher
of Paris.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Templo Expiatorio del Santisimo Sacramento Churches in Guadalajara, Jalisco Gothic Revival church buildings in Mexico Roman Catholic churches in Mexico Tourist attractions in Guadalajara, Jalisco