The Metropolitan Cathedral Basilica of Saint John the Baptist (

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 ...

: ''Catedral Basílica Metropolitana de San Juan Bautista''), officially known as the Minor Basilica of Saint John the Baptist and Parish of Our Lady of Remedies (''Basilica Menor de San Juan Bautista y Parroquia Nuestra Señora de los Remedios''), is the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 ...

for the

Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico The Archdiocese of San Juan de Puerto Rico (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church– comprising the northeast portion of the island of Puerto Rico. Its jurisdiction includes the municipalities of Dorado ...

. Located in the

Old San Juan Old San Juan () is a historic district located at the "northwest triangle" of the San Juan Islet, islet of San Juan in San Juan, Puerto Rico, San Juan. Its area roughly correlates to the Ballajá, Old San Juan, Ballajá, Catedral, Old San Juan, ...

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

San Juan, Puerto Rico San Juan ( , ; Spanish for "Saint John the Baptist, John") is the capital city and most populous Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality in the Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the ...

, it is one of the oldest buildings in both Puerto Rico and the Americas, the oldest cathedral building in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, the oldest purpose-built cathedral building and second-oldest existing cathedral in the Americas, and the third cathedral to be constructed in the Americas.Catedrales de Puerto Rico
/ref> The cathedral contains the

tomb A tomb ( ''tumbos'') or sepulchre () is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called '' immurement'', alth ...

of the

explorer and settlement founder

Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León ( – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and ''conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Puerto Rico in 1508 and Florida in 1513. He was born in Santervás de Campos, Valladolid, Spain, in ...

. It also contains the national shrine to Our Lady of Divine Providence, national patron of Puerto Rico, and a shrine dedicated to the Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago, the first Puerto Rican and first

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

-born layperson in history to be beatified.Catedrales de Puerto Rico
/ref>

History

Gothic chapel inside the San Juan Cathedral in Old San Juan 1

Although the Cathedral of Santa María la Menor in

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, is an older church building, and the

Garðar Cathedral Ruins Garðar Cathedral (), known formally as the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, was a Roman Catholic cathedral church located in Garðar, situated in Igaliku, Greenland. It was the first cathedral erected in the Americas, and is among the oldest surviv ...

Garðar, Greenland Garðar was the seat of the bishop in the Norse settlements in Greenland. It was the first Catholic diocese established in the Americas and is now a Latin Catholic titular see. Diocese The sagas tell that Sokki Þórisson, a wealthy farmer of ...

were built and served as a cathedral much earlier, the Cathedral of San Juan holds the distinction of being the oldest existing purpose-built cathedral church in the Americas. This is because San Juan, then known as the City of Puerto Rico, was the first diocese of the New World in the post-Columbus era (excluding

Norse settlements in Greenland Norse is a demonym for Norsemen, a Medieval North Germanic ethnolinguistic group ancestral to modern Scandinavians, defined as speakers of Old Norse from about the 9th to the 13th centuries. Norse may also refer to: Culture and religion * Nors ...

), with Bishop Don

Alonso Manso Alonso Manso (1460 – September 27, 1539) was a Spanish Catholic prelate who served as the first Bishop of Puerto Rico (1511–1539) and the first Bishop of Magua (1504–1511). ''(in Latin)'' He was also Governor of Puerto Rico from 1523 to ...

appointed in 1511. San Juan Cathedral 2222

The original cathedral of the nascent ''Ciudad de'' ''Puerto Rico'' (formally established as ''Puerto Rico de San Juan Bautista'' in 1521) was constructed from wood from 1513, intended to become the seat of the First Catholic Diocese to be established in the Americas, founded earlier in 1511. That same year, the ''Escuela de gramática'' (Grammar School) was established by Bishop

, in the area where the modern cathedral would later be constructed. This was the first school to be established in the island of Puerto Rico. It was free of charge and the courses taught were Latin language, literature, history, science, art, philosophy and theology. The original wooden structure was destroyed by a hurricane in 1529, which prompted the construction of a stone building from 1535 to 1542. San Juan Cathedral 2022

The original cathedral structure completed in the second half of the 16th century was built in the

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

of architecture. This style can still be appreciated in several gothic vaults located in the northeast corner of the building. An earthquake in 1787 resulted in structural damages to the building which prompted a reconstruction of the cathedral in 1802 that resulted in its current

Baroque style The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from the early 17th century until the 1750s. It followed Renaissance art and Mannerism and preceded the Rococo (i ...

iteration. Another earthquake in 1867 prompted further modifications to the facade in 1905. The first organist of the Cathedral of San Juan was the

Canarian Canary Islanders, or Canarians (), are the people of the Canary Islands, an autonomous community of Spain near the coast of Northwest Africa. The distinctive variety of the Spanish language spoken in the region is known as ''habla canaria'' (Ca ...

Domingo Crisanto Delgado Gómez Domingo Crisanto Delgado Gómez (1806, Güímar, Tenerife, Spain – 1858, San Juan, Puerto Rico) was one of the most famous composers of the nineteenth century Canary Islands; and first organist of the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista in Puerto ...

who came from the island of

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

and managed to take this position in

1836 Events January–March * January 1 — Hill Street Academy is named Colombo Academy and acquired by the Government, establishing the first public school in Sri Lanka. * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand ...

, having been a composer in Cathedral Our Lady of Los Remedios of San Cristóbal de La Laguna in his native island. Cardinal Luis Aponte Martínez, who was archbishop of San Juan from 1965 to 1999, petitioned the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

to designate the historic cathedral a basilica in the 1970s. The cathedral finally was proclaimed a

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 ...

by Pope Paul VI on January 25, 1978. The cathedral was visited 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 ...

in 1984 as part of his pastoral visits to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic that same year. A private Puerto Rican foundation known as ''Fundación Protectora de la Catedral Metropolitana de San Juan, Inc.'' was established to fund the historical restoration of the building and its art treasures for its 500th anniversary in 2021, and to protect it for the coming centuries.

Chapels and chambers

Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament

Also known as the Chapel of the Metropolitan Tabernacle (''sagrario metropolitano''), this chapel located on the southwestern corner of the cathedral buildingholds the metropolitan tabernacle and various works of art. Unlike other Latin American metropolitan cathedrals, such as those in

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

, this is located within the cathedral building itself.

Chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe

Although it is primarily dedicated to the

Virgin of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

, it also contains icons of the

Christ Child The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of life of Jesus, Jesus' l ...

Jude the Apostle Jude the Apostle (Ancient Greek: Ἰούδας Ἰακώβου translit. Ioúdas Iakóbou Syriac/Aramaic: ܝܗܘܕܐ translit. Yahwada) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is generally identified as Tha ...

and

Our Lady of Sorrows Our Lady of Sorrows (), Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows (), and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are Titles of Mary, names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referr ...

. It contains a faithful replica of the

tilmàtli A ''tilmàtli'' (or ''tilma''; , ) was a type of outer garment worn by men as a cloak/cape, documented from the late Mesoamerican chronology, Postclassic and early Spanish conquest of Mexico, Colonial eras among the Aztec and other peoples of ...

Juan Diego Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin (1474–1548), also known simply as Juan Diego (), was a Nahua peasant and Marian visionary. He is said to have been granted apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe on four occasions in December 1531: three at the hill o ...

, authorized and signed by Cardinal

Norberto Rivera Carrera Norberto Rivera Carrera (born 6 June 1942) is a Mexican prelate of the Catholic Church who was archbishop of Mexico from 1995 to 2017. He was made a cardinal in 1998. He was Bishop of Tehuacán from 1985 to 1995. Early life and ministry Norber ...

Archbishop of Mexico The Archdiocese of Mexico () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church that is situated in Mexico City, Mexico. It was erected as a diocese on 2 September 1530 and elevated to an archdiocese on 12 February 15 ...

from 1995 to 2017. It is surrounded by a gold and pearl frame and an inscription that reads: "Queen of Mexico and Empress of America."

Chapel of Our Lady of Divine Providence

San Juan Bautista Cathedral - 51001396682

One of the most culturally important chapels of the cathedral, it contains a shrine that is dedicated the national image of

Our Lady of Providence Our Lady of Providence or Our Lady of Divine Providence is a title of Mary. Her feast day is celebrated on 19 November. History The title of ''Mary, Mother of Divine Providence'' is often attributed due to her intervention at the wedding at Cana ...

, patron and protector of Puerto Rico, together with the

flag of Puerto Rico The flag of Puerto Rico (), officially the Flag of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (), represents Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans, its people. It consists of five equal horizontal stripes, alternating from red to white, with a blue equilateral t ...

. The current statue dates to 1853. Next to it is an inscription that reads: ''Our Lady of Providence, Protector of Puerto Rico (1853-1953)''. Our Lady of Providence was declared national patron of Puerto Rico on November 19, 1969 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

, on a decree that states the celebration of this Marian icon on November 19. This chapel is an officially declared national shrine that contains the icon of said national patron while the planned National Shrine of Our Lady Mother of Divine Providence (''Santuario Nacional de Nuestra Señora Madre de la Divina Providencia'') is being built in the Cupey barrio of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Baptistery Chapel

The baptismal chapel or

baptistery In Church architecture, Christian architecture the baptistery or baptistry (Old French ''baptisterie''; Latin ''baptisterium''; Greek language, Greek , 'bathing-place, baptistery', from , baptízein, 'to baptize') is the separate centrally planned ...

contains a wooden shrine with a portrait and personal relics of the Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago, familiarly known as ''Blessed Charlie'', the first Puerto Rican and first

-born layperson in to be beatified.

Chapel of Pius I

Located behind the sacristy, it contains the relics of

Pope Pius I Pius I (, Greek: Πίος) was the bishop of Rome from 140 to his death 154, according to the ''Annuario Pontificio''. His dates are listed as 142 or 146 to 157 or 161, respectively. He is considered to have opposed both the Valentinians and ...

, the ninth pope of the Catholic Church. It also houses the vestments and ornaments worn by

during his visit to Puerto Rico in 1984.

Burial Chapel of Juan Ponce de León

This chapel contains the mausoleum and tomb of the Spanish conquistador

, first colonial governor of Puerto Rico and the first European to arrive and settle the territory of Florida. This chapel also contains the tomb of

, the first bishop and founder of the Roman Catholic diocese of San Juan, and the tomb of Juan Alejo de Arizmendi, the first native-born Puerto Rican to become bishop.

Chapel of the Immaculate Conception

Located on the northwestern corner of the cathedral building, its main shrine has an icon of the

Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not defined as a ...

. The chapel also contains an image of

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Our Mother of Perpetual Succour (), colloquially known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine art, Byzantine ico ...

. Due to its position at the northern side of the main entrance to the cathedral, this chapel serves as a side portal.

''Altar de la Patria''

Consisting of a Gothic vault chamber located on the northeast corner of the nave, the oldest remaining portion of the cathedral building now contains the Altar to the Fatherland (''Altar de la Patria''), a monument and a plaque that commemorates the first use of the word ''puertorriqueño'' ( Puerto Rican) as a demonym and marker of the birth of the Puerto Rican identity as cultural and spiritual identity separate from the Spanish one. The monument was established in 2011 in a ceremony preceded by archbishop

Roberto González Nieves Roberto Octavio González Nieves (born June 2, 1950) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of San Juan de Puerto Rico since 1999. González previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Boston from 198 ...

Cathedral treasury

Being one of the oldest churches and religious institutions in the Americas, the cathedral holds a large and rich church treasury that showcases not only the history of the church but also the history of San Juan from its foundation in the 16th century to the present day. The treasury consists of sacred artifacts, relics and reliquaries, manuscripts and other important liturgical and other historical documents. The treasury today, particularly its historic religious silverware, is displayed as part of the art and history collection of the

Museum of San Juan Museum of San Juan (Spanish: ''Museo de San Juan''), originally founded as the Municipal Museum of Art and History of San Juan (''Museo Municipal de Arte e Historia de San Juan''), is a multidisciplinary museum located in the former 19th-century m ...

, which is located nearby in the Mercado subbarrio of Old San Juan.

Gallery

File:Interior de la Catedral de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico.jpg, Inside the cathedral nave. File:Catedral de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico - DSC06864.JPG, Shrine of Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago. File:Mother of Divine Providence in altar.jpg, Close-up of Our Lady of Providence shrine. File:Catedral de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico - DSC06854.JPG, Tomb of Juan Alejo de Arizmendi. File:Catedral de San Juan Bautista de Puerto Rico 12 2015 13.JPG, Tomb of

References

External links

Official Site

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Juan Official Site

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20160111052100/http://parishesonline.com/find/cathedral-of-san-juan-bautista English language web site with information about the Cathedral of San Juan Bautista {{DEFAULTSORT:Catedral Metropolitana Basilica de San Juan Bautista (San Juan, Puerto Rico) Roman Catholic churches completed in 1521 16th-century Roman Catholic church buildings Basilica churches in Puerto Rico San Juan Bautista Old San Juan, Puerto Rico Tourist attractions in San Juan, Puerto Rico Spanish Colonial architecture in Puerto Rico Roman Catholic churches in San Juan, Puerto Rico 1521 establishments in New Spain Historic district contributing properties in Puerto Rico National Historic Landmark District contributing properties 16th-century establishments in Puerto Rico