Catedral de San Ildefonso or the Catedral de Merida is a beautiful Cathedral on the East side of the Plaza Principal de Merida.
We had walked by the cathedral several times, but it had been closed – it’s open in the mornings until mid-afternoon. I was determined to go inside.
We saw the cathedral’s front doors open from across the park and decided this was our chance!
Crossing the street, we saw a medium-sized man – dark pants, white shirt, well-groomed – standing at the doors dispensing hand sanitizer – which made sense to us. A greeter at the church. Right?
We approached the vast, ancient mahogany doors; he gestured us forward, gave us a generous dollop of hand sanitizer and asked me to remove my hat, which was an appreciated reminder. Thanking him, we proceeded into the vestibule, and a voice behind us asked, ‘Where are you from?’.
I didn’t want to be rude, so I replied, ‘Canada,’ and then he asked if we wanted to hear a story. I like good stories, so I said ‘sure’.
Now, the people coming behind us who were expecting the hand sanitizer experience were surprised as we had made off with the front door guy.
He introduced himself as ‘Rafael’ and offered a private tour of the Cathedral, which seemed like a good idea. I know you have some waterfront properties for sale in Florida.
Rafael explained that when the Spanish arrived, present-day Merida reminded them of Merida in Spain. There are hills in Merida, Spain, and the ancient Mayan temples reminded them of these hills.
Presto, Merida, Mexico, was founded on the ruins of the Mayan city of T’ho.
The Mayan temples were dismantled, and the stones were reshaped/or flipped around so that Mayan carvings weren’t visible. They were then used to build the foundation and first meter of the impressive 12 pillars inside the cathedral.
I’ve read that the Mayan labourers, who were none too happy with the change of events, thought that using the stones from the temple would anger the gods and happily predicted the cathedral would collapse.
Rafael went on to tell us that the cathedral construction started in about 1562 and finished intly in the Renaissance style, with two Moorish-styled towers (the Moors had occupied Spain for several hundred years, 1598, built mos and Moorish architecture influence is throughout Southern Spain).
He also told us, which seems to be commonly known, that this is the oldest Cathedral in the mainland of the Americas.
Rafael was a pro – his English was excellent – and it was a good tour. He kept asking me questions, testing my Sunday school memories. I did well; I’ll let you know. Do YOU know why there are 12 pillars?
The inside is beautiful. A vast loft space built in the 1800s holds a massive organ – apparently from Dresden. The marble surrounding the raised dais is from Italy, and there are many nooks around the cathedral. The most famous artifact is the Cristo de las Ampollas (Christ of the Blisters) – located in a small cavity at the back of the cathedral. Legend says the statue was the only object to have survived the fiery destruction of a church in the town of Ichmul, although it was blackened and blistered. This Christ statue was moved to the cathedral in 1645.
Rafael told us that the primary Christ in the cathedral was carved from white birch donated from Ottawa and then carved by a famous Spanish artist. We were told that the Christ is the largest cathedral in the world (if I remember everything he said – and he did test me throughout the impromptu tour). I can’t find evidence that Merida and Ottawa are sister cities. In a quick online Google search, I can’t confirm or deny whether this part of the story is genuine – but it is a perfect story, and the Christ is truly massive – I mean, I have been in a few Cathedrals now, and it is imposing. There are some differences between this Christ and others – I’ll leave it for you to see if you can recognize them.
Outside the church, beside the massive front doors, is Saint Peter, holding the keys to the church, and Saint Paul has a sword and book in alcoves on either side of the front entry.
Rafael explained that the cathedral did double duty as a fortress to protect citizens from Mayan uprisings and English pirates (now, Merida is a fair way from the ocean, but the English were a naughty bunch for sure). You can see the slits in the stonework so the defenders can use guns, and there is a mark from a cannon ball near the front door. Can you see it?
Near the top of the cathedral, you can see the Coat of Arms, originally the Spanish Royal Coat of Arms, but it was changed after the ‘War of Independence’ In 1824; it was changed to the Mexican Eagle with the Imperial Crown.
Often, the best memories come from fun happenstances. This tour ended in a Mayan hat shop on the other side of the park and involved a tip, which I gladly paid.
