The Parroquia del Espíritu Santo y San Patricio (), constructed in 1645, is one of Puerto Rico's oldest

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 ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

es. It is located in the main plaza of the municipality of

Loíza, Puerto Rico Loíza () is a town and municipality on the northeastern coast of Puerto Rico, located east of Carolina, west of Río Grande, and north of Canóvanas. An outer municipality within the San Juan metropolitan area, it is spread over 5 barrios an ...

. The church represents an ethnically distinct community characterized by a rich Afro-Hispanic cultural and folk craft tradition. The structure's massive walls and buttresses helped the building withstand flood and hurricanes and likewise provided the people of Loíza with shelter from such natural disasters. The church, named after

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

, was enlarged to its present size in 1729.. The church was listed on the U.S.

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 1976,"Department of the Interior, Heritage Conservation and Recreation Service: National Register of Historic Places; Annual Listing of Historic Properties", (February 6, 1979), at p. 7581. 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 2000.

Notes

References

Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Puerto Rico Churches completed in 1729 Roman Catholic churches in Puerto Rico Spanish Colonial architecture in Puerto Rico Loíza, Puerto Rico 1729 establishments in New Spain {{PuertoRico-church-stub

See also

Notes

References