The Barquisimeto Cathedral or Cathedral of Our Lady of the Carmen is a temple of catholic origin and main seat of historical-religious tradition located specifically in the State Lara.
The Cathedral of Our Lady of Carmen is located in the central town of Barquisimeto, on Avenida Venezuela, between 29th and 30th streets. Your postal address is Barquisimeto 3001, Lara.
This emblematic construction of modern art took 15 years to be completed by the outstanding architect Jahn Bergkamp, who in 1968 was able to complete one of the most important civil engineering projects not only in the country, but also in the entire Latin American region. .
The cathedral is circumscribed to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Barquisimeto. The archbishop of the area is Antonio José López Castillo, and his current priest is the presbyter Pablo González.
History
From the time of the colony, a need for extension of Catholicism prevailed. That circumstance in some way encouraged the construction of cathedrals, churches and chapels for the dissemination of religion throughout the Venezuelan territory.
The cathedral of Barquisimeto was previously the church of San Francisco de Asís. The construction of this sanctuary was carried out thanks to the permission granted by the Governor Francisco Núñez Melena.
From 1636 to 1950, this representative temple was located in Plaza Lara, between Avenida 17 and Calle 22 and 23.
However, due to the earthquake of 1865, which seriously damaged the chapel, and the Tocuyo earthquake in 1950, the rulers of the time began to reconsider possible proposals for the construction of a cathedral whose location was less risky.
During the period of the elaboration of the new cathedral, the Ministry of Public Works, in charge of accelerating each one of the infrastructures of the region, at first decided to completely demolish the Church of San Francisco de Asís, however, the measure was not obeyed in its entirety and this temple was rebuilt little by little.
In view of the fact that the Ministry of Public Works was in charge of expediting the process of construction of the new cathedral, many of the functions previously held in the Church of San Francisco were temporarily delegated to the oldest temple in Barquisimeto: The Church of the Immaculate conception.
The design of the architect Jahn Bergkamp from 1953 began to materialize: the cathedral of Barquisimeto would soon have a new headquarters.
Thanks to the company"Constructora Jahn C.A"founded in 1964, there was continuity not only to the need to complete this architectural work, but also meant a vital support to meet engineering and quality standards.
The project for the construction of the new cathedral of Barquisimeto was completed in 1968. From then on, the functions that had been previously delegated to the Church of the Immaculate Conception were re-conferred.
characteristics
This imposing work of civil engineering was differentiated by many as one of the most impressive works of the 1960s in Latin America.
Its structure is distinguished for being of hyperbolic paraboloid shape, being cataloged by many as"similar to a flower with four petals".
In the four wings of this infrastructure there are seats for visitors to the temple. In the union of the wings a central tower is placed and it is practically the space where the altar is located.
As a relevant aspect, it could be noted that this temple has an ideal architectural distribution, since it allows adequate ventilation of all its spaces.
The white color predominates outside the Cathedral. The entrance of light to the interior is a consequence of the almost total coating of glass in the form of paintings located in all the wings of the sanctuary.
The extension of this metropolitan archdiocese has: two squares that surround the cathedral, a small parochial house, an amphitheater in the later facade, an underground living room to realize private masses and an important space for vehicular access to the north of the same one.
On the external façade of the cathedral you can also see the construction of detailed rectangular stained glass windows of commemorative saints and the presence of technical varieties of solar protections such as the"Brise soleil".
Traditions associated with the cathedral
Lara, since its founding in 1881, has been considered one of the most important religious states in Venezuela.
The city of Barquisimeto has been associated since its foundation with religious ceremonies of apostolic character.
The Divine Shepherdess of Barquisimeto
The cathedral of Barquisimeto gathers annually in its most representative festivity hundreds of thousands of people on January 14 to celebrate the commemoration of the Divine Shepherdess, who is the current patron of Lara State.
The Divine Shepherdess of Barquisimeto, is a procession carried out in the first month of the year with the purpose of giving devotion to the spiritual guide of that region, which is"Our Lady of Carmen".
This religious initiative has been carried out in the country and specifically in the State of Lara since 1856.
There are other religious traditions as they are:
- The Place to the Child Jesus
- The rosary of souls
- The devotion to Santa Cruz
- Feast of San Isidro Labrador
- Civic festivities in honor of Santa Ana
- Saint John the Baptist Day
References
- GCtholic, Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel (2014). Retrieved from: gcatholic.org.
- Barquisimeto's Cathedral by Aidnes Sánchez (2017). Retrieved from: yoamobqto.com.
- Cathedral of Barquisimeto. (s.f) retrieved on November 25, 2017, from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
- Lara State Foundation. (s.f) retrieved on November 26, 2017, from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
- Cathedral Church of Barquisimeto. (s.f) retrieved November 25, 2017, from: barquisimeto.com
- Venezuelan architecture. (s.f) retrieved November 25, 2017, from: arquitecturarchitecture.blogspot.com
- San Francisco was the Cathedral of Barquisimeto for 3 centuries: globovision.com
- Jahn Companies recovered November 24, 2017, from: grupojahn.com