Puebla Cathedral (Catedral Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción de Puebla), Mexico

Puebla Cathedral, Mexico. Photo: César Guadarrama/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Puebla Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church in the city of Puebla, in the state of Puebla, Mexico. It is a colonial cathedral, and is the see of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Puebla de los Angeles. The cathedral is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.

On January 24, 1557 Viceroy Martín Enríquez (1562–80) authorized construction. The design was submitted to the Dean and Cathedral Chapter on November 11, 1557. Construction began in November 1575. The ceremony of consecration was set for April 18, 1649. It was not entirely completed until 1690.

The front façade was built out of a black limestone, and it has two towers, the tallest in Mexico, one of which has no bells. According to legend, an underground river passes under that tower and if bells were placed in it, the tower would collapse.

Altar de la Catedral Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Inmaculada Concepción de Puebla. Photo: Emmanuel Ponce/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The interior of the cathedral contains many artistic artifacts that are found in its 14 lateral chapels and the main altar. Its principal altar is referred to as "The Major Altar", or "The Altar of the Kings", which was designed by Manuel Tolsa and built between 1797 and 1818. Some bishops of Puebla are buried under it.

Across most of the rear wall of the cathedral is a Blessed Sacrament chapel. The inside of the dome of the apse chapel was painted with The Assumption of the Virgin by Cristóbal de Villalpando. (Wikipedia)

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