The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (), commonly referred to as the New Cathedral of Cuenca (), is the cathedral church in Cuenca, Ecuador. It is situated in front of Parque Calderon.
The plan of the cathedral was drawn up by Juan Bautista Stiehle (1829-1899) — a German-born friar who arrived in Cuenca from Alsace in 1873 — on suggestions made by Bishop León Garrido. The Cathedral took over the function of the nearby Old Cathedral that had become too small. Construction works started in 1885 and lasted for almost a century. This building combines many architecture styles, but Romanesque Revival is predominant. The cathedral is surmounted by three giant domes covered by striking blue and white glazed tile from Czechoslovakia. Its stained glass windows were created by Spanish artist Guillermo Larrazábal.
Its towers are truncated due to a calculation error of the architect. If they had been raised to their planned height, the foundation of this Church to the Immaculate Conception, would not have been able to bear the weight. In spite of the architect's immense mistake, the skyline of its domes has become a symbol for the city. Its facade is made of alabaster and local marble, while the floor is covered with pink marble, brought from Carrara (Italy). When the cathedral was first constructed 9,000 out of Cuenca's 10,000 inhabitants could fit in the building.
History
Church "El Sagrario" or Old Cathedral
This church is an antecedent for the later construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Cuenca. The Colonel Gil Ramírez Dávalos founded the city of Santa Ana de los Ríos de Cuenca on April 12, 1557, under the orders of Viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza. In the year 1565 the final location of this church is decided, in which today it is the Historical Center of the city. The development of this project was promoted with the financial support of the Viceroy. The materials used in its construction are simple and easily accessible, such as: stones and sand bordering the city, wood, brick and the warmth of the first ovens of the Spanish Crown. The cathedral counted on several transformations and remissions through time; in 1935 the last work was done on the tower and on the front facade.
The erection of the bishopric of Cuenca was consolidated on April 2, 1786.
In the year 1779, the Royal Certificate was issued by Carlos III, where the separation and creation of the Bishopric in Cuenca was established, which entailed the creation of a temple as a Cathedral. However, a project for the construction of the cathedral, due to the existence of the "El Sagrario" church, would not be completed.
Project for the creation of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Cuenca Remigio Estévez de Toral was selected as the Bishop of Cuenca in the year 1860, during his time as bishop there were several problems surrounding the use of the same church as a parish church and as a cathedral. One of the solutions was to change the parish seat to the church of the company. Due to these problems, the creation of the cathedral was decided. On March 9, 1872, Bishop Estévez de Toral and the ecclesiastical council proclaimed the construction of the cathedral.
On December 6, 1872, 40 varas of land were assigned for the creation of the Cathedral between the contemporary streets Mariscal Sucre, Simón Bolívar, Benigno Malo and Padre Aguirre. In 1874 the Bishopric of Cuenca received the communiqué of Pope Pius IX, approving the construction and an allocation of 500 pesos were sent. The first that supported this project was the Redemptorist Fathers, they provided help of Brother Juan Stiehle as project architect. In 1885, Miguel León Garrido was named the new Bishop of Cuenca, due to the death of Estévez de Toral in 1883, and later the definitive beginning of the construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Cuenca.
Construction of the church The construction of the building took a time of 83 years. Below are the most important events:
1885-1900 Miguel Leon Garrido, who was the ninth Bishop of Cuenca, began construction on October 2, 1885, ordering the opening of the foundations. On October 25 of the same year, the work begins formally with the contribution from all the inhabitants of the city. Brother Juan directed the excavation works for these foundations since that same month, although the definitive plans for the cathedral were not completed.
One of the first parts that were built was the Crypt of the cathedral, for which it was essential to drain the rainwater, deposited in the excavation. Due to the fact that the works in the site were increasing in an accelerated way, Ronualdo Bernal was hired on December 1, 1885, so that he could help Brother Juan in the direction of the work. It was not until a year later, on December 12, 1886, when the first stone of the cathedral was placed.
To obtain more income for the construction, the Cathedral Chapter ordered on February 18, 1887, that 10% of the rent of each canon would be destined for this purpose. In addition, much of the tools and materials needed to continue construction did not exist in Ecuador and had to be imported from Europe. For this reason, on August 15, 1887, Mr. Carlos Ordóñez was assigned to bring several construction components to the city. He used to travel abroad for business purposes.
1901-1918 In 1901 there was a shortage of materials and money, so the construction continued with materials that had been paid in advance and with the collaboration of the people. On June 5, 1903, due to economic problems, the construction of the cathedral was interrupted. Manuel María Pólit would be the bishop of Cuenca from 1908 and tried to advance the construction. Due to the economic reality, Polit presented the idea of a less ambitious model; This plan was presented to the parish priests and members of the Catredalicio Chapter, who preferred the original model.
In the year of 1918, the Archbishop of Quito, Federico González Suárez died and Bishop Polit was elected to replace him, he brought to Quito a report detailing the progress of construction during the ten years he was bishop of the city of Cuenca.
1918-1953 On March 12, 1918, Daniel Agustín Hermida Ortega was named as the new bishop of Cuenca and he would remain in office for 53 years. From 1924 to 1930, the canons, A. Ortega and Muñoz and the procurator Isaac Peña collaborated in the construction. In 1941 began the construction of the atrium of the cathedral with the bricklayer, Pacual Lojano, who died the same year. The construction of the atrium continued at the hands of Luis Antonio Chicaiza in 1942. From 1942 to 1950 the ornamentation of great paste the cathedral was made, but there were problems for the construction of the greater dome that would present a more resistant structure, and later it would be counted on tiles brought from Czechoslovakia.
1954-1967 On November 13, 1954, the first public act took place inside the cathedral that was not finished yet; the episcopal consecration of Manuel Serrano Abad was celebrated. In the same year, the interior part would be completed with the placement of Italian marble on the floor. On September 28, 1956, Bishop Daniel Hermida died and Manuel de Jesús Serrano Abad was appointed as the new bishop. The buildings would continue and in 1964, Luis Antonio Chicaiza died.
Bishop Serrano got in Europe the Christ, made by the Spanish sculptor Rafael Planas, the bronze Tabernacle for the high altar and the statue of Santa Ana. On May 22, 1967, the bronze statue of Santa Ana Patron of Cuenca was placed in the front of the cathedral and six days later the Cathedral of Cuenca is consecrated to the Immaculate Virgin Mary in the 4th National Eucharistic Congress in the presence of the Pontifical Delegate Cardinal Julio Dophër, archbishop of Munich.
1968-1994 The cathedral was used only in special events until November 1, 1970, when the Chapter was definitively transferred to the Chapter Hall of the new cathedral. Archbishop Serrano Abad died on April 21, 1971, after which certain internal works were done to the cathedral. On July 20, 1971, Ernesto Álvarez is named as the new bishop of the city. In 1973, Álvarez was pressured to request funds from the National Government for the culmination of the cathedral towers, since the allocation they received was eliminated in the government of Rodríguez Lara. However, the bishop had opposed because the government had already extended an assignment for the settlement of temples due to the earthquake of 1970.
With the death of the last three canons: Adolfo Polo, Néstor Durán and Miguel Cordero the Ecclesiastical Chapter of Cuenca disappeared, leaving the Cathedral unfinished. Then the architect Gastón Ramírez Salcedo proposes a new project for the construction of the towers; in 1978 it was approved that DITURIS build the north tower with the commitment of the Curia to obtain funds for the construction of the south tower.
Without the expected results, in 1981 Monseñor Alberto Luna Tomar was appointed as the new Archbishop of Cuenca, who would dedicate his work to carry social jobs. The architect Gastón Ramírez, presented in August 1988 a report for the completion of the work, which proposed the total completion for the year 1992.
Zoning The Zoning is the distribution of the Cathedral spaces by zones:
Access area: Accesses and Lobbies.
Area of worship: Central Nave, Sideships, Choirs and Presbytery.
Complementary area to the cult: Sacristy and Chapterhouse.
Housing area: Stores, Departments of religious: Guardians of the Cathedral and Missionaries.
Burial area: Crypt.
Description of spaces The Cathedral of Cuenca is the church belonging to the bishop of the city and has spaces that are common in other churches, but also has some that are unique. These are described below.
Central Warehouse This is the largest space, in which the faithful people gather to participate in different ceremonies. It limits with the Side Ships by the columns of the structure of the building. The latter are arranged equidistantly with each other, and symmetrically with respect to the center. In addition, they are joined by arcs of half a point (which is a characteristic of the Romanesque architecture). It has a virtual limit towards the west with the Presbytery for the difference in level.
Once inside the cathedral, there is a sensation of being diminutive, given the spaciousness of the Central Nave. In addition, the little light that filters through the stained glass windows provides an environment for meditation and reflection.
Side Warehouses There are two, which are located symmetrically on the sides of the Central Warehouse. For this reason, they are limited to the exterior by the walls that form the body of the building. In addition, both have similar characteristics; comparing them with the Central Ship they have a lower height, although they maintain the same depth. Its vaults have a cannon style, which are based on columns joined by Roman arches that complement the structure of the building. Between the columns that protrude from the walls, spaces are formed (niches), which house the lateral altars of the church.
The main function of these structures is the free circulation, because there are ceremonies with a high concurrence, these spaces are occupied by the faithfuls, increasing the total capacity of congregation on the cathedral.
Side altars There are eleven altars located in the Lateral Ships. They are found in the niches (formed by the columns and walls that divide them), spaces designed for this purpose. These altars respond to the faith of the people of Cuenca, raised to different saints to whom they profess devotion. Each of them have different characteristics:
Altar of Santa Marianita