The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary ( Spanish: ''Catedral Metropolitana de la Inmaculada Concepción de María''), referred to as the New Cathedral (''La Nueva Catedral''), is located in

Managua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. It was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

History

The cathedral was built in 1991 to serve as a replacement for the

Old Cathedral of Managua The Old Cathedral of Managua, known as the ''Catedral de Santiago'' (St. James' Cathedral) in Spanish, is a cathedral in Managua, Nicaragua. The Cathedral was designed by Belgians, Belgian architects. Its neoclassical design was said to have bee ...

or St. James' Cathedral (''Catedral de Santiago''). The old cathedral was damaged and thought to be unrestoreable after a 1972 earthquake that destroyed 90% of the city. The new cathedral was designed by the Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta. Construction began around August 1991, and the cathedral was inaugurated on September 4, 1993. The cost of the newly built cathedral was estimated at $4.5 million. The new cathedral has generated much controversy, particularly about its architectural style and finance. The costs were covered partially thanks to the help of American

Tom Monaghan Thomas Stephen Monaghan (born March 25, 1937) is an American entrepreneur and Philanthropy, philanthropist who founded Domino's Pizza in 1960. He also owns the Domino's Farms Office Park in Ann Arbor Charter Township, Michigan, and owned the Det ...

, owner of Domino's Pizza. Locals refer to it as ''La Chichona'' on account of the plethora of

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

s adorning it which resemble many ''chichas'' (Nicaraguan spanish: slang for "breasts"). A fire started by a

Molotov cocktail A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see '') is a hand-thrown incendiary weapon consisting of a frangible container filled with flammable substances and equipped with a Fuse (explosives), fuse (typically a glass bottle filled wit ...

damaged an image of ''Sangre de Cristo y el Santísimo'' in the cathedral on July 31, 2020. Neither of the two people in the cathedral at the time were injured.

References

External links

Curiamanagua.org

{{Nicaragua topics, state=uncollasped Roman Catholic cathedrals in Nicaragua Buildings and structures in Managua Roman Catholic churches completed in 1993 Tourist attractions in Managua Ricardo Legorreta buildings 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Nicaragua Eclectic architecture

History

See also

References

External links