The San Germán de Auxerre Church (

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 ...

: ''Iglesia San Germán de Auxerre'') is a historic

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 ...

parish church located in

San Germán, Puerto Rico San Germán () is a historic San Germán barrio-pueblo, town and Municipalities of Puerto Rico, municipality located in the Sabana Grande Valley of southwestern region of Puerto Rico, south of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Mayagüez and Maricao, Puer ...

, overlooking its main town square. First built 1688, the current Baroque church has undergone numerous reconstructions and modifications after enduring numerous earthquakes throughout its lifespan. The church is a listed component of the San Germán Historic District and it was listed in the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984 as part of the Historic Churches of Puerto Rico

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

(MPS).

History

settlers under Bishop

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 ...

founded the settlement of Nueva Salamanca and its

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

in 1510 in an attempt to colonize the southwestern regions of Puerto Rico. This settlement was officially founded as ''La Villa de San Germán de Auxerre de Nueva Salamanca'' in 1573, named in honor of

Germanus of Auxerre Germanus of Auxerre (; ; ; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a high-ranking government official to devote his formidable energy towards the pr ...

, namesake of Queen Germaine de Foix, second wife of King Ferdinand II of Aragon. The town was established centered around the first stone church at its center together with a cabildo and a hospital built on a flat plateau of the Santa Marta Hills by the Guanajibo River overlooking the Sabana Grande Valley. The current church structure was built in 1688 after the destruction of its previous wooden and masonry iterations and repaired and reconstructed numerous between 1717 and 1739 after damages caused by numerous

hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its locat ...

and

earthquakes An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...

during the 17th and 18th centuries. Originally built in a

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 ...

, the current

Baroque architecture Baroque architecture is a highly decorative and theatrical style which appeared in Italy in the late 16th century and gradually spread across Europe. It was originally introduced by the Catholic Church, particularly by the Jesuits, as a means to ...

dates to its 1737 reconstruction after two particularly destructive earthquakes in 1717 and 1737. The building sustained some further minor damages after a 1787 earthquake but it did not require nor suffer from any further major reconstruction. Notable of this Baroque reconstruction are its lavish ''

trompe-l'œil ; ; ) is an artistic term for the highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a Two-dimensional space, two-dimensional surface. , which is most often associated with painting, tricks the viewer into perceiving p ...

'' frescoes that imitate wood coffers on the ceiling. The vault and arches are also painted in the ''trompe-l'œil'' manner.National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form. Church San Germán Auxerre of San German, 1984 Between 1834 and 1897, new repairs and modifications were made to the building, including its altar. The church today preserves the 1869 marble altar as well as ten other 19th century smaller secondary marble altars. A collection of 17th-century metalwork, 18th-century wooden carvings, and a painting by

José Campeche José Campeche y Jordán (December 23, 1751 – November 7, 1809), is the first known Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by art critics as one of the best rococo artists in the Americas. Campeche y Jordán loved to use ...

are kept in the choir loft. The parish church sustained major damage during the 1918 earthquake, prompting revitalization procedures in 1920 and the reconstruction of its main tower in 1939. The church was managed by the Augustinians between 1896 and 1991. It is one of 31 Puerto Rican churches reviewed for listing on the

in 1984 as part of the Historic Churches of Puerto Rico

(MPS). It was also included in the San Germán Historic District, listed on the National Register on February 16, 1994, and on the

Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones The Puerto Rico Register of Historic Sites and Zones (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Registro Nacional de Sitios y Zonas Históricas'') is a Government of Puerto Rico, Puerto Rican government program adopted by the state Puerto Rico Planning Board, ...

in 1994.

Gallery

File:Church San Germán Auxerre, 1914.jpg, 1914 postcard of the church File:San German - Catholic Church.jpg, The church in 1964 File:San Germán Auxerre.jpg, The church in 2009

References

Buildings and structures in San Germán, Puerto Rico San German de Auxerre Spanish Colonial architecture in Puerto Rico Historic district contributing properties in Puerto Rico Roman Catholic churches completed in 1688 17th-century establishments in Puerto Rico 1688 establishments in New Spain {{PuertoRico-church-stub

History

Gallery

See also

References