page_title: Cathedral Basilica of Lima
section_title: Timeline
hierarchical_section_title: Cathedral Basilica of Lima / Timeline
caption_attribution_description: Sculpture of St. Matthew at Lima Cathedral in Peru.
context_page_description: The Basilica Cathedral of Lima, otherwise Lima Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in the Plaza Mayor of downtown Lima, Peru. Construction began in 1535 and completed in 1649. It is dedicated to St John, Apostle and Evangelist.
context_section_description: The following chronological data is based on the work of the priest and art historian Antonio San Cristóbal.
  January 18, 1535: The conquistador Francisco Pizarro laid the first stone, carrying on his shoulders the first log used in the construction of the Cathedral.  The chosen location was between the Main Plaza and the Street of the Jews (Calle de Judíos, in Spanish).
  1538: The construction of the first church was completed.  It was mainly built of adobe, and was relatively primitive, small and rustic.
  March 11, 1540: The church was officially inaugurated by Francisco Pizarro.
  May 14, 1541: A papal bull of Pope Paul III, Illius Fulciti Praesidio, designated the church a Cathedral, by creating the diocese of the City of the Kings, as Lima was then called.  The Cathedral became part of the assigned diocese of Saint John the Evangelist ("San Juan Evangelista" in Spanish) and ceased to depend on Cusco.
  1542: The cathedral underwent several improvements and minor extensions, paid for by García de Salcedo.
  September 17, 1543: Bishop Jerónimo de Loayza signed the "Lima Cathedral Construction Act" and selected its council.
  February 12, 1546: The church was upgraded to a Metropolitan Church, and "The Kings" became an Archdiocese.  This was done by the papal bull Super Universa Orbis of Pope Paul III.
  1551: Inauguration of the second Cathedral by Archbishop Jerónimo de Loayza.
  1564: Archbishop Jerónimo de Loayza assigned the task of redesigning the Cathedral to Alonso Beltrán, with instructions to base his design on the Cathedral of Seville in Spain.
  1572: Work on the third Cathedral began with the demolition of the adobe walls of the second cathedral, but the project was quickly abandoned because of the high cost.
  1598: The Renaissance architect Francisco Becerra reduced the plans to 3 aisles, plus 2 chapels. Work on the third Cathedral began again.
  February 2, 1604: Archbishop Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo inaugurated the first part of the third Cathedral.
  1609: An earthquake destroyed the vaults of the recently built structure.
  1614–1615: The old Renaissance vaults were rebuilt at a lower height in a Gothic style.
  August 15, 1622: First Mass in the finished third Cathedral.
  October 19, 1625: Archbishop Gonzalo de Ocampo consecrated the third Lima Cathedral.
  1626: Juan Martínez de Arona and Pedro de Noguera designed the main portal, which still exists today in this form.
  1687: An earthquake destroyed the vaults of the Cathedral.
  December 7, 1697: Reconstruction of the Cathedral finished and it was officially inaugurated.
  1732: Two additional portals were added.
  José de Orejón y Aparicio
  1746: An earthquake destroyed many vaults and pillars.
  May 29, 1755: The first part of the rebuilt Cathedral was inaugurated.
  December 8, 1758: The second part of the rebuilt Cathedral was inaugurated.
  December 8, 1778: Archbishop Diego Antonio de Parada inaugurated the renovated interior of the Cathedral.
  1794–1797:  Construction of the current towers of the Cathedral, designed by the architect Ignacio Martorell.
  January 17, 1893: The Cathedral was closed because it was in disrepair and in dire need of restoration.
  January 7, 1896: Internal renovation was begun.
  January 6, 1898: Inauguration of renovated Cathedral.
  1940: Earthquake. Restoration by Emilio Harth-Terré.
  2005: New lights were installed.
caption: Sculpture of St. Matthew on the front facade
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