It had been years. The Sunday Traveler walked into the vast cathedral of Guadalajara and was in awe. The seeming immensity of the church’s interior measures, according to Wikipedia, 77.8 meters x 72.75 meters, which just doesn’t seem right; it seems so much larger than that (ok, I had to convert it via google: 255 feet x 238 feet). I had forgotten how big it is; maybe I just wasn’t appreciative of this kind of thing as a kid when I lived in Guadalajara. I was with very patient cousins who sat and prayed a load of prayers as I walked slowly around the whole church taking photos, stopping to just be in this amazing house of worship, and also say a prayer or two of thanksgiving at being able to have come back again.
The Virtue of Hope
The cathedral was first built in 1541, made of adobe and a thatched roof. The new construction began in 1561 and was completed in 1618. In 1818, an earthquake caused the collapse of the towers and dome, that were replaced, but again damaged from a second earthquake in 1849, repairs completed in 1854. There have been subsequent earthquakes in 1932, 1957, 1979, 1985, 1995, and 2003. There now remains a slight tilt to the north tower, and some structural damage to the dome as reported on the most recent Wikipedia entry. I hadn’t realized there had been so many earthquakes.
The newer looking cupolas are now explained to a question I had as I looked up and wondered about why they weren’t the older look of most of the other churches of Mexico.
As my peregrination around the cathedral continued, my eyes wandered to a stained glass of the Virgin of Guadalupe who I am particularly fond of; I always look for her right off when I go into a church anywhere in the world. The stained glass in this church was imported from France.
The sculptures in the cathedral were impressive as well
The Virtue of Charity. This sculpture especially touched me, as I have seen so many poor women sitting in the streets of Mexico with a baby in their arms begging for money to be able to buy food to feed their child/children.
The Sunday Traveler made one final stop in a little side chapel before leaving
The Cathedral of Guadalajara, a definite must see if you visit this wonderful city, and plan on enough time to wander around inside for a while.
AngelineM's Blog 
Beautiful photos Angeline. The first totally drew me in. I love church architecture and this looks like a particularly lovely cathedral.
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Thanks so much, Su. The architecture of churches always draws me in.
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These are awesome and beautiful, but then again I have an obsession( in a good way) -lol. for Cathedrals and churches!! Sometime I should post about the Cathedral in St Louis, MO- The actual pope visited many years ago and It’s sort of considered like the Vatican but in a smaller scale of course but the inside is just mind blowing with beauty!!!!! Love this post!!!
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Thanks so much, Laz. There are so many incredibly beautiful churches in Mexico. I’ve got more coming from a couple of little towns I had time to visit in my two weeks this trip.
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This is just fascinating to read and the photos are gorgeous – I am a lover of cathedrals and this one is outstanding. I have a large book that i always keep on my coffee table – Kelly gave it to me years ago – about the worlds most beautiful churches. Titled simply CHURCHES. This one should be included…. published by Harper Collins and written by Judith Dupre
Check it out on Amazon or in a real bookstore because it is well worth it!
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Thanks, Jo. There is something so intriguing about churches, and photographing them is becoming a passion of mine. I’ll look for that book to keep learning about different angles for my photography.
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My fav is the Santa Croce church in Florence – it is humble compared to most others but its wall crypts house the remains of Michelangelo, Galileo, and Machiavelli to name a few – while in Florence I was compelled to go for 3 visits and could barely tear myself away.
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