Metropolitan Cathedral, San Salvador

Metropolitan Cathedral, San Salvador (must see)

The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Holy Savior is the principal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador and the seat of the Archbishop of San Salvador. The church was twice visited by Pope John Paul II who said that the cathedral was "intimately allied with the joys and hopes of the Salvadoran people". The Cathedral site is the place where the old Temple of Santo Domingo once stood. An even greater toll was exacted on Palm Sunday, March 31, 1980, during the funeral of Archbishop Romero, when 44 people were killed during a stampede after some elements, fired on worshipers and on Romero's funeral cortege. Later, the square in front of the Cathedral was the site of rapturous celebrations after the signing of the Chapultepec Peace Accords that ended the Salvadoran Civil War in 1992. The Cathedral was completed and inaugurated on March 19, 1999 and finished off with a festive tiled facade by the Salvadoran master Fernando Llort.

The festive and colorful facade borders a shrine to an image of the Divine Saviour of the World sculpted by Friar Francisco Silvestre García in 1777. The main altar features an image of the Divine Saviour donated by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1546. The image rests on a four-column baldacchino surrounded by images of the prophets Moses and Elijah, who take part in the Transfiguration story. The main altar is surrounded by eight large paintings showing scenes from the life of Christ painted by Andrés García Ibáñez. Above it all stands the bright Churriguresque cupola.
Sight description based on Wikipedia.

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Metropolitan Cathedral on Map

Sight Name: Metropolitan Cathedral
Sight Location: San Salvador, El Salvador (See walking tours in San Salvador)
Sight Type: Religious
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Walking Tours in San Salvador, El Salvador

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