Exploring Colonial Mexico©
Exploring Colonial Mexico©
On a recent visit to Cuernavaca, we renewed our acquaintance with the extraordinary cathedral there.
Not everyone knows that Cuernavaca Cathedral, set on a hill overlooking the city, was an important and historic Franciscan monastery. The formidable church is noted for its arcaded 16th century "open" chapel, from which the friars preached to their Indian acolytes.
From here
too, numerous Franciscans were trained and set out on their arduous
journey to evangelize the orient and found new missions in the
Philippines and Asia, a journey from which many never returned.
The most famous of these intrepid
friars was Philip of Jesus, the first Mexican martyr and saint.
Crucified with 26 other religious by the Japanese Emperor Hideyoshi
in 1596, Philip is memorialized in Cuernavaca Cathedral by a spectacular
cycle of nave murals, only uncovered during renovation of the
cathedral some years ago.
Elegantly drawn and richly
colored in a Japanese-inspired style, possibly by an artist from
the orient, these gigantic early 17th century frescoes recount
in detail the story of St. Philip's capture and his harrowing
journey to the place of execution.
The convento also contains many early murals, including a Crucifixion, by the sacristy entrance, and an unusual Spiritual Genealogy of St. Francis in the cloister.
In another corner of the cloister stands a statue of St. Christopher, traditionally honored as the "bringer of Christ" to the New World. In this expressive sculpture, the sinewy saint looks up in awe to the young Christ perched on his shoulder.
Another colonial masterwork here is the gilded 18th century altarpiece in the adjacent Franciscan church of the Third Order.
Restored and in beautiful condition, it is one of the few colonial baroque retablos to survive both the neoclassical vogue that swept through many churches in the region during the late 1700s and early 1800s, and the havoc wrought in Morelos during the Revolutionary wars of the past century.
More colonial treasures await the visitor inside the museum of the Palace of Cortés, downhill from the cathedral, among the best regional museums in the Republic and noted for its spectacular murals by Diego Rivera.
photo of Palacio de Cortés by A & P Giberstein
Text & pictures ©2002 Richard D. Perry
For full details on Cuernavaca cathedral see our guidebook Mexico's Fortress Monasteries
