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The Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is located on the south side of the Parque Céspedes, on Santo Tomás street between the San Basilio and Heredia streets. 

Opening Hours

Monday - Friday  09:00-12:00 ; 16:00 - 18:00
Saturday 09:00 - 12:00
mass: Tuesday - Friday 18:30 Saturday 17:00
Sunday 18:30

Admission Details
free
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side entrance
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the statues of Christopher Columbus (on the left) and Bartolomé de las Casas

A magnificent building stands on the south side of the Parque Céspedes: it is the Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción. It is the seat of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba since 1522.

According to the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, Asunción de la Virgen (Asunción de María) is the belief that Virgin Mary was taken to Heaven, as she had completed the course of her life on the Earth. This transfer is called Assumptio Beatae Mariae Virginis (Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary) by Catholics.

History

The first Catholic church of Santiago de Cuba was built in 1514. It was dedicated to Santa Catalina (Catherine of Alexandria). Catherine of Alexandria was a Christian martyr born in Alexandria, Egypt in the 4th century. Her feast is celebrated on November 25. There is still uncertainty about the place where this church, called Ermita de Santa Catalina, was built, but it is said that it was on a hill where later the provincial prison would be built. It was a small, wooden building.

At that time there was a church in Baracoa that was known under the name of La Iglesia Parroquial de la Villa de Baracoa. Pope Leo X created the bishopric in this church in 1517.

Diego Velázquez ordered to build the same church immediately in Santiago de Cuba, because Pope Adriano VI, has moved the bishopric from Baracoa to Santiago in 1522. The Pope also elevated the existing church in Baracoa to the rank of Cathedral of the Island and Religious Center of Louisiana and Florida with the name of "Nuestra Señora de la Asunción". The cathedral that would be built in Santiago, was dedicated to St. Catherine (Santa Catalina).

The construction of the first cathedral of Santiago de Cuba started on the area of the demolished parish church in 1522. It is said that it was completed in 1526, but it was destroyed by a fire in the same year, because it was a wooden construction, made by guano. The Dominican Fray Miguel Ramirez de Salamanca that was appointed as Bishop of Cuba, started with the construction of the new cathedral at the area of the present cathedral in 1528.  This time it was built of stone. The construction of the second cathedral “Nuestra Señora de La Asunción" of Santiago de Cuba has been completed in 1555.

During the 16Ith century, the cathedral suffered many attacks of the pirates. In 1553 Jacques de Sores attacked the city and demanded 80.000 pesos for not destroying the cathedral. In 1562 the cathedral’s roof was destroyed by the French corsairs. In 1586 and in 1603 it was plundered again by the pirates; in the latter the cathedral was set on fire, so that its repair continued until its opening to the community in 1628.  In 1662 the pirates Henry Morgan and Dolleys stole the bells of the cathedral after plundering the temple and setting its chapel on fire that was the biggest chapel at that time, built to expense of Juan Alvarez Salgado in 1653. 

Not only the pirates, but also the earthquakes threatened the cathedral. In 1674 it was closed to the community for a while after a serious earthquake. The earthquake in 1678 was very strong, so that the biggest chapel was destroyed, and the body of the building was severely damaged. One year later, in 1679, a hurricane and an earthquake shattered all what had remained from the cathedral (second cathedral).

In 1686, the Bishop Diego Aselino de Compostela initiated the construction of a new building (third cathedral) that was opened to the community without having finished in 1690. In 1719 and in 1760 the cathedral underwent a thorough repair. Unfortunately, in 1766, an earthquake that was one of the most devastating earthquakes occurred in the city, reduced the main and assistant chapels to ruins, so that the cult continued with their worship in a straw house in Plaza de Armas.

In 1810 it was started with building the fourth and the final cathedral of Santiago de Cuba. The construction period of the new cathedral lasted for 8 years. It was opened to the cult in 1818. It was built with a fortified roof and walls, strong enough to withstand the earthquakes and the hurricanes. The construction occupied 2.115 m2 and it had 5 naves. The earthquake in 1852 ruined the lateral naves and the towers, and broke the bells, but the damages were repaired in a short time.

In 1882 it received the title of Minor Basilica from the Holy See (Sancta Sedes; the seat of the Bishop of Rome).

In 1874 the clock tower is added to the building that accounts for the highest point in Santiago de Cuba. The clocks were manufactured by the brothers Don Tácito and José Bueno.

In 1932 the earthquake Sandy damaged the building; the towers cracked and collapsed.

In 1958 Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción was declared National Monument.

The cathedral is visited by three popes: in 1998 by John Paul II, in 2021 by Benedict XVI and in 2015 by Francisco.

front door