Catedral de Ibagué, Catholic cathedral in central Ibagué, Colombia.
Catedral de Ibagué occupies the corner of Carrera 3 and Calle 10, on the eastern side of Plaza de Bolívar. Its eclectic building, reworked from 1926 under Monsignor Pedro María Rodríguez Andrade, has a tower holding a Swiss clock and three French bells, a marble presbytery, and a facade statue of John Paul II by Enrique Saldaña.
The cathedral began as a Spanish colonial-style building with clay roof tiles. From 1926, Monsignor Pedro María Rodríguez Andrade directed its transformation into the eclectic building seen today, financed mainly by the parish itself (80%), with diocesan parishes (15%) and the city community (5%). After a 1976 earthquake damaged the dome and central nave, a plan to demolish it and extend Plaza de Bolívar was dropped and the structure was reinforced with ferrocement.
The cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the dogma of the Immaculate Conception and serves as the main church of the Archdiocese of Ibagué and seat of the Cathedral Parish. Three bells of French origin were consecrated in 1931 and hang in the tower. A statue of John Paul II by Enrique Saldaña was placed on the facade in 1985, before the pope's visit to Colombia.
The building is open daily for mass services with multiple schedules throughout the week and additional parish offerings. Visitors should note that the church functions as an active community space and opening times follow the worship schedule.
The tower clock is a Swiss mechanism given in 1929 by the Antioquia colony, a community of migrants from that department settled in Ibagué. The three bells above it are French and were consecrated in 1931, two years after the clock arrived.
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