Holy Basilica Cathedral of Potosí

BASILICA CATHEDRAL OF POTOSÍ
The Potosí Cathedral (Catedral de la Villa Imperial de Potosí) is a major basilica with viceregal
baroque style and neoclassical influence. It has a stone façade and is located in Plaza 10 de
Noviembre, in the center of this city, on Ayacucho street between Junín and Quijarro streets.
HISTORY
The origins of the primitive Main Church, commonly called the Mother Church, are still unclear. It
would have originally been started in one thousand five hundred sixty-four , according to the plans of
the master Juan Miguel de la Veramendi, who could not continue the work due to having died, so it
was necessary , what a request from the Miter of La Plata, from Lima to officially authorize in one
thousand five hundred sixty-eight the economic income that supports the work.
At the beginning of one thousand five hundred seventy-two Juan de Ballejo entrusted Pedro Moreno
to take on the masonry work of the church together with him, and only upon the arrival of Viceroy
Francisco de Toledo at the end of that year of one thousand five hundred seventy-two, the work was
restarted, starting from the foundations. Its completion, in addition to being expensive, lasted until the
end of the century; Well, in one thousand five hundred ninety-seven the carpenter Pedro Gutiérrez, in
charge of the high choir, ordered his colleague Alonzo de la Plaza to run with the work
THE FIRST MOTHER CHURCH COLLAPSED IN 1807
Among the buildings in which Toledo placed special interest is precisely the Main Church of Potosí, whose first
pledra was placed by the same active viceroy, on December 8,one thousand six hundred seventy-two . Until
then, the temple of San Lorenzo had served as the Mother Church.
The Matrix that Toledo built in the Plaza del Regocijo, made entirely of clay, including its tower, suffered the
inexorable harshness of time and came to a complete deterioration in the first years of the 19th century. The
factory owner, Don Pedro de Arrieta, was responsible for lightly repairing the building, spending, just for the
ornamentation work, the hefty sum of ten thousand pesos, without being able to stop the total destruction of the
Church, which ended up collapsing entirely that night. on February 16,one thousand eight hundred seven,
mainly due to the torrential rains of that year. When the tower collapsed, it
DONATIONS TO BUILD THE NEW CHURCH
The day after the tragic event, several wealthy people offered, for the reconstruction of the building, large sums
of money that fluctuated between one thousand and ten thousand pesos per head; The first to pay, between
them, the sum of thirteen thousand pesos, as the chronicle tells us, were Don Joaquín de Obregón and Don
Manuel de Bulucua. But it is said that when they wanted to get to work, there was a divergence of opinions
about the site that the new sacred precinct should occupy, and so on. While some gave their opinion why he
should stay in the same place. Others suggested that it be built in the area occupied by the Church of Mercy.
It was the Catalan architect Fray Manuel de Sanahuja (an architect of well-deserved fame for the grandiose
achievements he carried out in Peru) who arrived from Moquegua to devise the plan and open the respective
foundations, on September 6, one thousand eight hundred eight.
APRIL 4, 1838, CONSECRATION OF THE TEMPLE
On August 12, one thousand eight hundred twenty-nine the bells were hung in the towers; The priest Don
Santiago José de Costas baptized the eldest of them with the name of María Clara del Sacramento, in homage
to the saint of the day.
On June 6,one thousand eight hundred thirty-three the feast of Corpus Christi, the Most Holy Sacrament was
solemnly deposited on the main altar.
In one thousand eight hundred thirty-six the work on the temple was completed, consecrated on April 4, one
thousand eight hundred thirty-eight by the archbishop José María de Mendizábal
In the tower on the west side, a single-sphere clock was placed, under the South bell, overlooking the Plaza 10
de November, which was transferred from the tower of the Church of the Company of Jesus.
ARCHITECTURE
It was built between one thousand eight hundred eight and one thousand eight hundred thirty-eight on the site
where the old church collapsed in one thousand eight hundred seven. Its main promoter was Fray Manuel
Sanahuja.
The current Cathedral Basilica, which occupies the same space as its predecessor, is the work of the architect
Fray Manuel de Sanahuja, who began it on Tuesday, September 6, one thousand eight hundred eight . It was
completed in 1836, and it was solemnly consecrated on April 4, one thousand eight hundred thirty-eight, in the
Presidency of Marshal Andrés de Santa Cruz, who sponsored the ceremony. In one thousand six hundred
twenty-eight, master Diego Sayago was commissioned to build a brick doorway in the Mercy Chapel, which
was part of the church. The temple had a single nave with a transept.
The Main and side portals were similar and Renaissance in style. It had a single tower, originally of one body,
until one thousand seven hundred thirty-four, the year in which its remodeling began, to raise it to two bodies.
That church survived until the beginning of the 19th century, when other remodeling work had been carried out
without consultation, the stability of the tower was compromised, and when it collapsed in one thousand eight
hundred seven, it was forced to think about the construction of a single new church
Inside there are important religious relics of gold and silver. The temple had a transept that survived until the
beginning of one thousand eight hundred seven, but its collapse forced the reconstruction of the Church.
Currently, the Potosí Cathedral shows the stone and brick with which it was originally built, it has a central
dome and two towers.
And some parts of the churches are:
- The carved silver tabernacle
- The curvilinear pulpit
- The baptismal font of the Basilia
- The center dome
- Stained glass
- The Christ of the column

- The adoration of kings or the epiphany
The cathedral today.
Today the Potosi Cathedral, considered a symbol of colonial wealth and one of the most beautiful cathedrals in
Latin America, stands out for its impressive baroque architecture and rich history.
And it is open from Monday to Friday for the public or tourism, its hours may vary depending on festivities that
the cathedral may have since tourists who want to enter can enter almost any day for the tour.

Holy Basilica Cathedral of Potosí

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BASILICA CATHEDRAL OF POTOSÍ

DONATIONS TO BUILD THE NEW CHURCH

APRIL 4, 1838, CONSECRATION OF THE TEMPLE

And some parts of the churches are:

- The carved silver tabernacle

- The curvilinear pulpit

- The baptismal font of the Basilia

- The center dome

- The Christ of the column

The cathedral today.

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