Our Lady of Asunción Cathedral, Religious landmark in La Catedral district, Asunción, Paraguay.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption stands in the La Catedral neighbourhood of Asunción's historic centre. The present building, in neoclassical style, was designed by military architect Pascual Urdapilleta, with Carlos Zucchi, Patricio Aquino and Tomás Berges assisting. Its high altar is coated in silver. The old cathedral it replaced lacked even a bell tower.

A first church of La Encarnación, built of wood and clay in 1539, burned in the Asunción fire of 4 February 1543; governor Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca ordered it rebuilt near the riverbank. The see was erected on 10 January 1548, and the cathedral was moved to its present site from 8 February 1687, inaugurated on 30 November 1689. The current neoclassical building, designed by military architect Pascual Urdapilleta, was begun on 10 May 1842 under Carlos Antonio López and blessed unfinished on 27 October 1845.

This is Paraguay's primary Catholic church and the seat of the metropolitan archbishop of Asunción. People gather here regularly for religious services and celebrations throughout the year.

The cathedral faces the Plaza de la Independencia in the Barrio Catedral, within the historic centre, so it is reached on foot from the surrounding streets. The building is an active parish and archdiocesan seat, so visits fit around Mass times rather than fixed tour schedules.

The cathedral was rebuilt on its present site after Bishop Faustino de Casas asked for a location further from the river; work began on 8 February 1687, five months after his death, and the church was inaugurated on 30 November 1689. Flooding that changed the riverbank profile motivated the move.