Catedral de San Jacinto, Cathedral in Yaguachi Nuevo, Ecuador
The Catedral de San Jacinto is a concrete church built between 1942 and 1956 in Yaguachi Nuevo, Ecuador. It serves as the cathedral of the Diocese of San Jacinto de Yaguachi and holds the title of minor basilica. Inside, a sarcophagus in front of the altar of San Jacinto contains relics of the saint.
A first wooden church was inaugurated on 14 July 1844, replaced by a second in 1901. The present concrete church was built between 1942 and 1956, consecrated on 7 August 1977, and declared a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II on 18 June 1980. The Diocese of San Jacinto de Yaguachi was created on 4 November 2009, and the church became its cathedral on 27 February 2010.
The cathedral serves as the central gathering place for the local Catholic community in Yaguachi Nuevo, hosting regular worship and special celebrations. The name San Jacinto connects to an ancient legend about a sacred cloth depicting the saint, which has shaped the spiritual identity of the town for centuries and continues to draw visitors seeking connection to its religious traditions.
The cathedral stands at Calderón 505 and Lorenzo de Caraycoa in Yaguachi Nuevo. The relics of Saint Hyacinth lie in a sarcophagus before his altar, and the church is the seat of the Diocese of San Jacinto de Yaguachi, so visits may coincide with diocesan ceremonies.
The relics kept here are particles detached from the skull of Saint Hyacinth, sent from the Basilica of the Holy Trinity in Kraków, Poland. They arrived on 17 December 1981 and have rested since 8 August 1982 in a carved sarcophagus in front of the saint's altar.
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