Day 10 1/20/2024
Merida, Mexico
Frank's Trip
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Merida's & Mexico's Oldest Church...
After a very long overnight bus trip from Palenque, today, aside from a good bit of walking and seeing things, I visited the Catedral de Merida and, at the back corner of it, the Chapel of the Divine Master. This is the oldest existing church in Mexico and the second oldest in this hemisphere.
I've kept my ambitions of what all to see much lighter on this trip. That has worked well for me as even the reduced demands have proven sufficient to be tiring for this old guy. And I'm so enjoying the great space in my Wyndham Junior Suite here in Merida.
Metropolitan Cathedral - San Ildefonso de Toledo / Catedral de Merida
It can boast of being the oldest in all of Mexico, dating back to no less than the 1500s. It was begun in 1561 and completed in 1598. In the Americas, it’s only surpassed in age by the Catedral de Santo Domingo / Church & Convent of the Dominicos, located in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic - construction begun in 1510.
The facade of this building is from the Renaissance and so is the Puerta del Perdon (the door of forgiveness) framed by columns. Its interior houses the El Cristo de la Unidad, the largest wooden image of Jesus Christ crucified. The Christ of Unity is a very special work, it measures 47'7" high by 40'5" wide
El Cristo de la Unidad
the largest wooden image of Jesus Christ crucified
Capilla de El Divino Maestro / The Chapel of the Divine Master
This old chapel of the Cathedral of Mérida has its origin in the year 1647 when the members of the Brotherhood of Jesús Nazareno, led by Captain Don Gaspar Pacheco de Ayala, elder brother of said brotherhood, requested from the Cathedral Chapter the granting of "two arches" in the Cathedral hall for the construction of its own chapel to store the insignia and banners of the brotherhood.
Two centuries later, in 1836, Bishop José María Guerra gave the chapel to the Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament so that the monthly meetings of the brotherhood could be held and the images of The Divine Master and the Holy Apostles of the Holy Supper could be placed. . The brothers invested considerable resources to remodel the chapel, provide it with jewelry, new floors and two altarpieces, and it was solemnly dedicated on October 10 of that year. In this area there are numerous graves of former brothers of the Blessed Sacrament.
Currently it is one of the preferred prayer spaces for many Meridans; One of the most important devotions in this chapel is that of Jesus the Nazarene; On Holy Monday of each year the ancient ceremony of blessing bread takes place.
