The Cathedral of Cartagena in Spain, or the Cathedral of Santa María la Vieja, was a cathedral of the

Diocese of Cartagena The Diocese of Cartagena () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the city of Cartagena, Spain, Cartagena in the ecclesiastical province of Archdiocese of Granada, Granada in Spain.Cartagena. It has been in ruins since 1939, when it was destroyed when Cartagena was shelled in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

Nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

forces.

History

Despite the importance of the pre Islamic diocese of Cartagena no trace of the pre-

conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...

cathedral has been found to date. In 1243 after

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, ; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, Kingdom of León, León and Kingdom of Galicia, Galicia from 1 June 1252 until his death in 1284. During the April 1257 Imperial election, election of 1 ...

reconquered

Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...

, he petitioned

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...

to restore the Diocese of Cartagena due to its former importance which was granted in 1250. There is inconclusive evidence whether there was a cathedral in Cartagena after the diocese was restored. In medieval and Renaissance documents the church is described as "Iglesia Mayor", and is only called "Old Cathedral" from the eighteenth century. The Military Order of Santa María de España, Castille's early navy, established around 1270 by Alfonso in a

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

monastery in Cartagena, may have been based at the Cathedral. After the death of Bishop Pedro Gallego, the elected García Martínez took over the leadership of the episcopate (referred to as "elected" because he was never consecrated as bishop) applied to transfer the see to

, although retaining the name of Diocese of Cartagena. The church therefore lost its status of a cathedral, and became a parish church. It would be under Bishop Diego Martínez Magaz that the transfer of the diocesan capital to Murcia would be formalized in 1291 with the consent of King Sancho IV, although the diocese continued to be called "Carthaginensis," transferring the episcopal seat and chapter to Murcia, where the bishop had resided ''de facto'' for some time. The City Council of Cartagena was never in agreement with the transfer of the seat of the diocese, and throughout the centuries, there were continuing demands to the Vatican for the restitution of the bishopric to Cartagena. As a result, the construction of the current began in the 18th century, a large church with cathedral-like form and dimensions, intended to become the seat of the Carthaginensis diocese due to the poor condition of the original cathedral of Santa María. There are still demands for the restoration of the see to Cartagena. The Cofradía del Sucorro, one of the four brotherhoods that run processions in Holy Week in Cartagena were centered around the statue of Christ Crucified - the Christ of Succour - which was venerated in the Cathedral. The brotherhood was founded in 1691 by

Pedro Manuel Colón de Portugal Pedro Manuel Colón de Portugal y de la Cueva, 7th Duke of Veragua, (25 December 1651 – 9 September 1710) was a Spanish noble. He was a Knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece since 1675, Viceroy of Valencia, 1679–1680, Viceroy of Sici ...

, and at the time the admiral of the

Spanish Navy The Spanish Navy, officially the Armada, is the Navy, maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation ...

, as an aristocratic brotherhood after one of his sons had been miraculously cured two years earlier by the statue. In the late nineteenth century the foundations of the medieval church collapsed. The church was restored by the architect

Victor Beltrí The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, in Romanesque style with modernist elements. In 1871, the alabaster altarpiece that adorned one of the side chapels was removed from the cathedral as a result of its donation by the City Council to the collections of the

National Archaeological Museum of Spain The National Archaeological Museum (; MAN) is a archaeology museum in Madrid, Spain. It is located on Calle de Serrano beside the Plaza de Colón, sharing its building with the National Library of Spain. It is one of the National Museums of ...

in Madrid, which opened that same year. During the Spanish Civil War the church was attacked and the contents damaged on 25 July 1936. In 1939 it was shelled by the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, Id ...

and has remained abandoned since then. In the

the sacking of the Cathedral by the locally dominant

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

meant that the original statue and its setting were destroyed.

Roman theatre

In 1988 a Roman theatre was discovered during building works near the old cathedral. It was found that the old cathedral had been built over the upper part of the theatre, using some material from the theatre.Fundacion Teatro Romano de Cartagena: The History of a Discovery
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References

{{Authority control

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 ...

Former cathedrals Former churches in Spain Roman Catholic cathedrals in the Region of Murcia Buildings and structures destroyed by war Buildings and structures demolished in 1939 History of Cartagena, Spain Spanish Civil War sites Ruins in Spain