The Basilica of Esquipulas or Cathedral Basilica of the Black Christ of Esquipulas (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Basílica de Esquipulas'' or ''Catedral Basílica del Cristo Negro de Esquipulas'') is a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church in the city of

Esquipulas Esquipulas (Nahuatl: Isquitzuchil, "place where flowers abound"), officially Municipality of Esquipulas, whose original name was Yzquipulas, is a town, with a population of 18,667 (2018 census), and a municipality located in the department of Chiq ...

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, named after the image of the

Black Christ of Esquipulas The Black Christ of Esquipulas is a darkened wooden image of Christ enshrined within the Cathedral Basilica of Esquipulas in Esquipulas, Guatemala. It is one of the Cristos Negros of Central America and Mexico, famed black Christological images of ...

which it houses. It is the largest

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church in Central America and southern Mexico and the only one in America with four bell-towers. It has the status of

cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

and Catholic sanctuary.

History

The statue of the Black Christ (El Cristo Negro) was commissioned by Spanish conquistadors and carved in 1594 by Quirio Cataño in Antigua and installed in the church in 1595. The history of the Basilica begins in 1735, when a priest named Father Pedro Pardo de Figueroa experienced a miraculous cure after praying before the statue. When he became Archbishop of Guatemala, he commissioned a basilica to shelter the statue. The church was completed in 1759. It is visited by about 4.5 million pilgrims annually, including 1.5 million in the days leading up to its

patronal festival A patronal feast or patronal festival (; ; ; ; ) is a yearly celebration dedicated – in countries influenced by Christianity – to the 'heavenly advocate' or 'patron' of the location holding the festival, who is a saint or virgin. The day of t ...

on 15 January and the festival on 9 March which marks the date of the image's arrival in the city in 1595. On a visit in 1840, the anthropologist

John Lloyd Stephens John Lloyd Stephens (November 28, 1805October 13, 1852) was an American explorer, writer, and diplomat. He was a pivotal figure in the rediscovery of Maya civilization throughout Middle America (Americas), Middle America and in the planning of th ...

described the church as the town's "only object of interest". The church was promoted to cathedral status by

pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

in 1956 as the seat of the new

Territorial Prelature of Santo Cristo de Esquípulas A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, belonging or connected to a particular country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually a geographic area which has not been granted the powers of self-government, ...

, whose first prelate

Mariano Rossell y Arellano Mariano Rossell y Arellano (18 July 1894, Esquipulas, Guatemala - 10 December 1964, Guatemala City) was a Guatemalan Roman Catholic clergyman. He was the fifteenth archbishop of Guatemala from 1939 to 1964 and the first Prelate Nullius of Es ...

(the senior archbishop of Guatemala) sought to set up a

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monastery attached to the cathedral to care for it - this was founded in 1959 by three monks sent from St. Joseph Benedictine Abbey in

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. He also successfully petitioned

pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

to promote the church to minor basilica status in 1961. It was visited on 6 February 1996 by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

during his second Apostolic Visit to Guatemala to mark the four-hundredth anniversary of the veneration of the Black Christ.

References

External links

* {{coord, 14.5618, N, 89.3509, W, display=title Roman Catholic cathedrals in Guatemala Basilica churches in Guatemala Catholic Church in Guatemala Roman Catholic shrines in Guatemala