The Irish standard., 1888-06-09
At MExlco.s CAPITAL.

At MExiCo'S CAPITAL.
The Cathedral, Its Towers, Chapels, Staf-
ues, Paintings and Affairs.
There are 1876 Catholic churches and
chapels in the City of Mexico the most
celebrated being Santo Domingo, OF
Inquisition fame; La Santa Vera Cruz,
Cortez Hermitage, the aristocratic
Santa Brigida, and the churches OF
San Fernando and Santa Teresa.
The Cathedral is built upon or near
the site of the great Aztec Temple that
the spaniards destroyed when the city
was conquered in 1921. Upon the
partition of the city this site was set
apart that upon it should be built a
Christian church. The first stone of
the existing building was laid in 1878.
Between the years 1873 and 1867 the
cost of the work was S1,752,0o0, with
the cost of the towers, $3.50, ZOO, and
of the work upon the interior, and the
bells (the great bell alone costing $lo,-
00O). the entire cost was about 81, 0OO,-
900. The great bell, 10 feet high, in
the western tower, is named Santa
Maria de Guadalupe. 1t was placed in
position in the year 1892. The larger
of the bells in the eastern tower is
named bona Maria. Exc usive of the
very thick walls, the building measures
387 feet from north to south, III feet
from east to west and has all interior
height of 179 feet. 1t is built of stone.
The facade, at the sides of which rise
the towers, is divided by massive but
tressss into three portals, which, in
turn, are separated by cornices into
two divisions, the first Doric very
elegant by reason Of its correct pro-
portions). the second Ionic. The
basso~relieves, statues, friezes, bases
and capitals are of white marble, MAX
ing a harmonious color-effect with the
gray stone.
The towers (203 feet six inches ligh)
are in two divisions, the lower Doric
and the upper Ionic, this last finished
with very beautiful architectural de-
tails, and the crown of each is bell
shaped dome, capped by spheres and
crosses of stone. The cornices of the
towers as we'll as the cornices else
where upon the building, are sur
mounted by balustrades of carved
stone upon which, disposed at regular
intervals, are carved stone vases. The
cornices Immediately beneath the
domes of the towers serve as pedestals
for colossal stone statues of the doc
tors of the church and the patriarchs
of the Monastic orders, and those of
the central portal, occupied by the
clock, are pedestals for statues of the
Theological Virtues with their at
tributes. Beneath the clock is the
coat-of-ar,ns of the Republic. Above,
as seen from the southern side of
the plaza rises the dome, surmounted
by it's slender, graceful lantern, the
work of the architect, Tolsa. The
architect of the work as a whole was
Alonzo Perez Castaneda. The ill.,
terror of the cathedral, in the Doric
style, with traces of the Goric (Which
marks the Spanish architecture of the
sixteenth century,, is almost severe in
its. simplicity. The aisles are divided
from the nave by futed columns, which
support the light and elegantly vaulted
roof The central arches form a Latin.
cross, above which rises the fine dome.
Within the dome are the paintings rep
resenting the Assumption Of the Vir-
gin and groups of the principal char
aeters Of sacred history. Outside of
the ais]es are rows of chapels, seven
on each side of the building. The
stalls are richly carved in wood, and
above them is to be observed paint
ing, by the Mexican artist, Juan Cor
rea, of the Immaculate Conception.
Two organs, in carved cases, rise from
the lateral tribunals to the height of
the arches of the aisles. The church
contains SIX affairs, the finest altar in
the cathedral being that of Los Reyes
(the Kings in the apse rising from the
pavement to the root, which was at
one time the richest in the world
Coz: Washington Critic.