Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1885-05-28
THE CATHEDRALS.
MExiCO'S CHURCH EDIFiCES AND
THE WONDERS THEREOF.
Grad Cathedral of the City of MEXICO
CathedraIs of Pueblo and Santa
GuadaIupe--Rich Ornaments,
Jewels and Vestments.
IEmily Pierce in Frank Leslie's.l


II is fact, frankly acknowledged, that
the Roman Catholic church in Mexico is
now surrounded by the ruins only Of its
former greatness. Fifty years ago this opu-
lent institution owned over three-fifths Of
the City Of Mexico The income Of the
archbishop was greater than that Of the
queen of England. In 1927 there were $50
| converts aai monasteries in Mexico One
tenth Of the products of the country went to
the clergy as tithes. The estimated
value OF church property in 1850
was 500 100000, one third Of the entire
property Of the nation. In the City Of Mex.
leo there We're }, pOJ hou ses, yaluei at $50.
OOO,OoO Of which the church owned more
tran one-half. DJmes rose in every block,
the cross Was lifted upon every hand. The
annual income of the church in the City OF
Mexico was so 900, 00J while that of the
Republic was only SIS, 900 900 The clergy
in the city Of Puebla held mortgages on
farms, IN that state alone. to the amount Of
10000, 900. Between Puebla and Apizaco,
distance Of thirty miles, were l2i churches,
and the valley of Puebla numbered 355-one
for each day in the year.
The grand cathedral stands upon the site
OF tie Aztec Teocalli; it covers a space of
i2j by 800 feet, and its high altar, which is
in the center Of tho lifice, is above the spot
once occupied by the sacrificial stone The
choir is one mass OF elaborate carvings; ex-
tending around it, and leading to the high
altar, probably 20 feet, is a railing Of lum-
bago, manufactured in China, and weighing
twenty-six tons. 1t is brassy-looking
metal, composed of gold, silver, and a small
alloy Of copper, but Containing SO much
gold that an offer has been made to replace
it with pure silver, and give many thousand
dollars IN addition Tn, altar itself, placed
upon marble platform, is Of
wrought and polished silver, and the
whole surrnounted by a small temple,
in which formerly rested the figure
Of the Virgin of Remedies, who was dressed
in three petticoats-one embroidered with
pearls. another with emeralds, and a third
with diamonds, the value Of which was
over s., 00O.0D0.' This was only one part Of
one church in Mexico, and that said not to
bc the richest.
dropped into the sacristy one day, AMI
found two or three padres INDUCING in q
quiet chat after mas They politely volun.
teered TO show M tie magnificent set OF
vestments worked for the cathedral by COM
mand Of Isabella Of Spain. They are Of
cloth OF gold, incruste with gems and with |
passages Of holy writ, 50 exquisitely worked |
III silk that it require the closest inspection
FOR my wom1n's eyes TO discover traces OF
the needle. These gorgeous vestments are
useless for practical purposes, being SO
heavy that no man Of ordinary Dimensions
could sustain their enormous weight, during |
mass, or even long enough to pronounce the |
benediction.
the cathe .rai o. Pueblo is tn. best speci- |
men of architecture have seen in Mexico |
The material is blue basalt and the mas |
sive buttresses and lofty towers without, the |
noble arches and artistic pillars within give |
dignity and solidity often lacking. A |
favorite legend tells us that while in process
OF building, this cathedral gained myster- |
ously in height during the night exactly a.
much as the masons had accomplished dur
ing the day. This was said TO be the work |
OF two angels who came down from heaven,
and wrought with golden trowels in
their hands, hence tbs city acquired the
name of 'fuebla de los Angeles the City
vi the Angels.
Here. the great altar affords the finest dis
play of Mexican marbles in the republic,
and beneath If is the sepulcher Of the bish.
OPP. Before the revolution there de-
pended from the center of tine vast dome
MI enormous chandelier-a mass of gold
and silver weighing tons; one may
imagine it, value from the fact that the cost
Of cleaning It alone amounted to a, 600
Here the canielahra were Of gold, and so
ponderuu that strong man could not lift
them; the value of the jewels was of historic
notOriety, and an imag, II the Virgin
boasted a zone Of diamonds valued at ST.
1000
The cathedral Of Santa Guadalupe is the
most famous in Mexico, and was once the
richest AMI most veneratei shrine; but the
grand Did In ilan president, Benito Juarez,
conf cate | IN st OF its gold and silver orna-
ments, AMI coined them into money, to carry
On his war against the church party. Even
The frame of solid gold which surrounded
he patron SAINT wa~ taken, lrt this was
returned. The altar railing,
wei, hing tins, /, of solid silver This alone,
Of all the slImptuous church fixtures, WAS
spared by the Liberals