The Basilica Cathedral of Puebla, as the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is known according to its Marian invocation, is the episcopal see of the Archdiocese of Puebla de los Ángeles (Mexico). It is one of the most important buildings in the historic center of Puebla declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It has the prerogative of being the first sumptuous temple that under fine architectural designs was built in the Americas, consecrated in 1649, ahead of the Metropolitan of Mexico that was dedicated in 1653. It was founded by Philip II of Spain.
The current Herrerian-style cathedral was built between the 16th and 17th centuries, and replaced the previous one that existed in what is now the atrium. Seventy-four years passed from the beginning of its construction in 1575 to its consecration, during the reigns of three successive kings of Spain, Philip II, Philip III and Philip IV. The setbacks that occurred throughout those years led to numerous modifications of the original layout. By 1624 the works were completely suspended until the arrival of Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza in July 1640, who resumed the works with determined enthusiasm. The new reforms gave a higher elevation to the central nave above the processional ones, allowing the passage of natural light and giving it the appearance of a pyramidal structure. It was consecrated by Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza on April 18, 1649, without having been completely finished.
The space it occupies is rectangular in shape, recharged in the corner of another larger floor, forming a large space for the atrium. The building is organized into five naves: a central one, two lateral ones and two niche chapels, its Renaissance-style façade stands out. Attached to its back is a building for offices of the Mitra, its former headquarters, and the building of the chapel called Ochavo. With its little more than 70 meters high, it was the tallest church in the Spanish colonies.
The cathedral is considered one of the most important museums of New Spanish and later art due to the treasures it houses. Over the centuries it has been enriched in works of painting, sculpture, goldsmithing and carpentry of great artistic quality, as well as its decorations, the large boarded doors, aluminum and the treasures of the sacristy that protect the rich priestly ornaments embroidered with gold and silver thread, sacred vessels, chalices, ciboria, reliquaries and crosses bathed in gold inlaid with jewels and diamonds. Its historical archive has documents dating back to the founding of the city and many are waiting to be classified.
The foundation of the cathedral
The first church Once Queen Isabella of Portugal, wife of Carlos V, Holy Roman Emperor authorized on January 18, 1531, at the request of the Real Audiencia, the foundation of a town of Spanish Christians in the province of Tlaxcala, in the place called Cuetlaxcoapan, It was necessary to build the first parish church in the city, for which it was decided to do it in front of the Plaza Mayor in what would be called Portal de Borja and from 1852 Portal Iturbide, it was located in the middle of the street bordering on both sides with the lots granted to the first residents of the city, the mayor Hernando de Elgueta and Alonso González, who were given a license to build portals.These neighbors did not make their portals of the same height, as a result of which, when this first temple was dismantled to regularize the square and continue the portal, it was left with the deformity that is still notable today, since a part is lower and its arches are uneven. In the sacristy of this parish, a meeting was held on May 16, 1535, with fifty-seven people who signed before a clerk in order to start the construction of a new larger church, while Bishop Julián Garcés announced, in a general meeting with the people, their intention to build a new temple.
The old major church In 1537, once the new city had the minimum conditions for Bishop Garcés to reside there, the Cabildo requested, among other things, his transfer, which occurred on October 3, 1539, with the consent of Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza; therefore the bishop's cathedral would occupy small and provisional buildings until there was the definitive one. In 1543, the construction of a temple for the new episcopal seat was approved by real cédula of Carlos V, Holy Roman Emperor which received the new bishop Friar Martín Sarmiento de Ojacastro since Garcés had died the previous year. Meanwhile, the space dedicated to the temple next to the Plaza Mayor had been occupied by primitive residents and there was a need to buy the houses recently built by them.
Since its foundation, the Spanish colony had been projected to form a set of rectangular blocks, in which a large central space was reserved for said plaza and another one was left next to it, which after the first years of uncertainty about its use became it would become a major church. Construction began on August 29, 1535, with the financial help of Bishop Ojacastro and settlers from the city where the first stone was laid, with the assistance of Corregidor Hernández de Elgueta and Mayor Alonso Martín Partidor.
The temple of 1535 was in the same space that the cathedral occupies today, however its exact position is still being discussed, but not its orientation, from north to south, that is, facing the Plaza Mayor. His factory, according to his contemporaries, was mediocre, however Motolina wrote in 1541 “it is very solemn, and stronger and larger than all those built to date throughout New Spain. It has three naves and the pillars are made of very good black stone and of good grain, with its three doors, in which there are three very carved portals and a lot of work”. Because of the quality of its materials, it had to be repaired on several occasions in which the Temple of Nuestra Señora de la Concordia served as cathedral.
The modest Major church did not correspond to the claims of the inhabitants of the city of los Angéles who had requested its expansion until they finally obtained the consent of the king to build a new cathedral.
The new cathedral
The orders to carry out the projects and preparatory matters took many years, and a real cédula of 1552 signed by Prince Philip II of Spain in Monzón (Huesca) recommended that they get down to work and even the help offered by the king in the year 1560 was not taken advantage of by lack of resources. It had to be bought from Alonso Martín Partidor himself, owner of the houses where the cathedral would be built.
Finally, on November 18, 1575, construction work began. The initial architect was the Spaniard Francisco Becerra, designated major master, together with Juan de Cigorondo, senior worker, who prepared the layout and model as well as the interior and exterior, showing them to the Dean and the Cathedral Chapter and, upon approval, they were given the land and instructions for laying foundations. At first the works received an important boost and the viceroy himself ordered that the Indians of Cholula and Tlaxcala participate in the construction of the cathedral.
The building should be centered longitudinally on the large block that was assigned to it, loaded towards the east with an atrium in front that would have that of a cemetery among its functions, the latter over time would be the object of several construction projects to close it and encompass in front of the feet of the temple the cathedral Tabernacle. The direction of the building would be east–west, so the Plaza Mayor of the city would be on its north side.
In 1580 Francisco Becerra left Mexico called by the viceroy of Peru to carry out the works on the cathedral of Quito and Cusco, leaving the works on the cathedral unfinished, which were resumed between 1587 and 1590 by order of the viceroy Álvaro Manrique de Zúñiga on the basis of a new trace and in which natives of Tlaxcala and Cholula had to work.
Between 1618 and 1640 the works were suspended at the height of the walls and cornices, missing the altar, chapels, vaults and the floor that at that time was made of dirt floor, however Juan Gómez de Trasmonte had already been working since 1634 on reforming the Becerra project, since he had been designated as major master, but it was not until the arrival of Bishop Juan de Palafox y Mendoza that his plan could pass from the plan to the works.
Gómez de Trasmonte, who had served as Major Master of the Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral, adapted the project, giving it a more classical appearance and a basilica plan.
The era of Palafox y Mendoza
Bringing Palafox with him a real cédula dated January 19, 1640 that ordered the works to be finished and concluded,Bishop Palafox arrived in Puebla on July 22, 1640. the new bishop of Puebla ordered its resumption, but not before visiting the cathedral that, seeing it in total carelessness, described it:
In these circumstances, Palafox undertook a fundraising campaign that included the entire society of Puebla, contributing his own inheritance, asking for contributions to the secular Cabildo, the highest, and raising the tithes, the latter action that caused him a confrontation with the religious orders and in particular with the Jesuits.
The resumption of the factory required the workforce of 1,500 officers and peons that Palafox supervised every week. Gómez de Trasmonte's project gave more elevation to the central nave, giving it a pyramidal appearance seen from the front, not as a whim or aesthetic, but to give more lighting to the interior, however when the cathedral was finally consecrated on Sunday, April 18, 1649, the towers were missing and the facade had not been completed.
On the afternoon of the Tuesday following the consecration, the remains of five bishops of the eight that the diocese had had were transferred and the Blessed Sacrament was celebrated with an innumerable turnout.The city, in common agreement with the bishop, decided to hold a solemn novena with the concurrence of the religious communities and in which there would be a mass and a sermon and in the afternoon whatever the aldermen liked, who determined jousting games of Moros y cristianos. José Manzo, Puebla Cathedral, p.12. The celebrations were intermingled with the sadness of the next departure of Bishop Palafox to Spain. The Jesuits with whom Palafox had had an open conflict for various reasons,To finish the cathedral, Palafox insisted that the tithes of the numerous properties of the Jesuits be paid, which represented their only income, in addition, what triggered an open confrontation with the society was the application by Palafox of the provisions of the Council of Trent that forced the Jesuits to present licenses to preach and confess in the bishopric. finally managed to transfer him to March 6, 1647. The bishop not only left his cathedral to Puebla but also the San Pedro Colleges and the nucleus of the Palafoxian Library.
Later additions At later dates, covers and facades were completed, such as the main one, called the Puerta del Perdón, finished in 1664. That same year in July, in a town hall session, the work for the construction of the "Ochavo" was approved, a place to store valuable religious ornaments, commissioning its construction to the renowned architect Carlos García Durango, who had intervened in the enclosure of some vaults and the conclusion of the north tower. The side facade called San Cristóbal, which faces north, was completed in 1690. The iron dressing: the bars of the chapels, the railing that runs from the chancel to the choir, the one that surrounds it and those of the chancel of the Altar of the Kings were added around 1691. The entire cathedral was paved in 1772 with the so-called Santo Tomás marble brought from the Tepozuchil hill, placed instead of the original brickwork called petatillo left by Bishop Palafox.
Exterior