Cathedral of Guatemala City
Encyclopedia
The Cathedral of Guatemala City, also Metropolitan Cathedral, officially Catedral Primada Metropolitana de Santiago, is the main church of Guatemala City
and of the Archdiocese of Guatemala
(Archidioecesis Guatimalensis). It is located at the Parque Central in the center of the city.
The main body of the church was built between 1782 and 1815 while the towers were completed in 1867. Its massive structure incorporates baroque and classical elements and has withstood numerous earthquakes. Damage by the devastating earthquakes of 1917 and 1976
has been repaired. The inside of the cathedral is relatively sparsely decorated but impresses by its size and its structural strength. The altars are ornate and decorative.
In front of the cathedral stand a series of 12 pillars, solemnly remembering the names of thousands of people forcibly disappeared
or murdered during the counterinsurgency violence of Guatemala's internal armed conflict
, which began in 1960 and lasted until the final peace accord was signed in 1996.
Guatemala City
Guatemala City , is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Guatemala and Central America...
and of the Archdiocese of Guatemala
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Guatemala is a metropolitan diocese, responsible for the suffragan Dioceses of Escuintla, Jalapa, Santa Rosa de Lima, Verapaz, Cobán and Zacapa y Santo Cristo de Esquipulas. It was elevated on 16 December 1743...
(Archidioecesis Guatimalensis). It is located at the Parque Central in the center of the city.
The main body of the church was built between 1782 and 1815 while the towers were completed in 1867. Its massive structure incorporates baroque and classical elements and has withstood numerous earthquakes. Damage by the devastating earthquakes of 1917 and 1976
1976 Guatemala earthquake
The 1976 Guatemala earthquake struck on February 4, 1976 at 03:01:43 local time . It was a 7.5 Mw earthquake, centered in the Motagua Fault, about 160 km northeast of Guatemala City, Guatemala...
has been repaired. The inside of the cathedral is relatively sparsely decorated but impresses by its size and its structural strength. The altars are ornate and decorative.
In front of the cathedral stand a series of 12 pillars, solemnly remembering the names of thousands of people forcibly disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
or murdered during the counterinsurgency violence of Guatemala's internal armed conflict
Guatemalan Civil War
The Guatemalan Civil War ran from 1960-1996. The thirty-six-year civil war began as a grassroots, popular response to the rightist and military usurpation of civil government , and the President's disrespect for the human and civil rights of the majority of the population...
, which began in 1960 and lasted until the final peace accord was signed in 1996.