Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, Catholic cathedral in central Tepic, Mexico.
The Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción is a Neo-Gothic cathedral on the main square of Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. Its gray and tan stone facade has two three-tiered bell towers topped by small domes, a central clock with a white face and black numerals, and a wide arched entrance framed by rusticated stone. The interior follows a basilican Latin-cross plan with a single nave and an octagonal dome.
The first church on the site was built around 1750, smaller than the present one. In the early 19th century a larger temple was begun and finished in 1885; Pope Leo XIII made it a cathedral on 23 June 1891, with Ignacio Díaz y Macedo as first bishop. Gabriel Luna y Rodríguez gave the facade its Neo-Gothic form, against the neoclassical taste of the time, and the last tower was completed in 1896.
The cathedral is dedicated to the Immaculate Conception and serves as the seat of the Diocese of Tepic, created by Pope Leo XIII on 23 June 1891 with Ignacio Díaz y Macedo as first bishop. Three episcopal consecrations have been held here: José Manuel Piña Torres in 1958, Adolfo Suárez Rivera in 1971 and Alfonso Humberto Robles Cota in 1981.
The cathedral sits directly on Tepic's main plaza and is easy to reach on foot from most of the city center. Access for visitors can be limited during religious services or feast days, so planning a visit outside those times is a good idea.
Inside the cathedral, the original altar was replaced during the 1800s by a large cross, which changed the way the interior space is organized around worship. Visitors expecting a traditional altarpiece are often caught off guard by this arrangement.
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