Building Name: | Metropolitan Cathedral |
Location: | Ituzaingó 1373 Ciudad Vieja, Montevideo, |
Religious Affiliation: | Roman Catholic |
Rite: | Latin rite |
Municipality: | Montevideo |
Consecration Year: | 1804 |
Functional Status: | Active |
Leadership: | Archdiocese of Montevideo |
Website: | http://www.arquidiocesis.net |
Groundbreaking: | 1724 |
Length: | ) |
The Montevideo Metropolitan Cathedral (Spanish; Castilian: Catedral Metropolitana de Montevideo) is the main Roman Catholic church of Montevideo, and seat of its archdiocese. It is located right in front of the Cabildo across Constitution Square, in the neighbourhood of Ciudad Vieja.
The origin of the church dates from Spanish colonial times (1740), when a church constructed of brick was built on the site.[1] In 1790, the foundation was laid for the construction of the current neoclassical structure. The church was consecrated in 1804; it is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and to the patron saints of Montevideo, Philip and James.[2]
There is one major altar, several side altars, memorials, and tombs of several of the former archbishops and bishops who served in the cathedral. On a side altar is venerated an image of the Virgin of the Thirty-Three, patron saint of Uruguay.[3]