Capilla del Sagrario, Colonial church in Plaza de Bolívar, Bogotá, Colombia.
Capilla del Sagrario is a church built between 1660 and 1700 to house the Blessed Sacrament, on Carrera Séptima facing Plaza de Bolívar. It is a separate building from the adjoining cathedral, with a Latin-cross plan: one longitudinal nave crossed by a transept. Its facade is Neogranadine baroque, and the dome was built by the Bogotá architect Nicolás León.
Gabriel Gómez de Sandoval y Arratia, a sergeant major of the Spanish Royal Army devoted to the Eucharist, vowed to build a chapel to the Blessed Sacrament and bought two adjoining houses for $640. The first stone was laid on 28 October 1660 by provisor Lucas Fernández de Piedrahíta, and Gómez directed the works, travelling through Europe selling jewels to raise funds. The chapel was blessed on 17 January 1700, the Blessed Sacrament installed that March, and Gómez, who died that August, is buried inside.
Gregorio Vásquez de Arce y Ceballos painted more than fifty canvases for the chapel on commission from Gabriel Gómez de Sandoval; thirty-six survive, among them The Evangelists, The Last Supper with 25 larger-than-life figures, and The Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine. The dome carries the coats of arms of Madrid and Santafé alongside those of the Arboleda, Gómez de Sandoval, Cortés de Mesa and Vergara Azcárate families.
The chapel stands on Carrera Séptima, facing the east side of Plaza de Bolívar, and is reached on foot from the square. It is a separate building from the adjoining cathedral, so look for its own baroque doorway rather than entering through the cathedral. It draws its largest crowds of pilgrims during Holy Week.
Beneath the chapel lies a crypt that serves as a burial place for descendants of the founder and patrons who have maintained the building across generations. This underground resting place connects the chapel to the families who shaped its history.
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