Metropolitan Cathedral of San José, Catholic cathedral in Hospital district, San José, Costa Rica

The Metropolitan Cathedral of San José stands on Calle Central between Avenues 2 and 4, its calicanto walls begun in 1825 under Eusebio Rodríguez. Guatemalan carpenter Ramón Estrada finished the work in 1878, adding the dome, pulpit, choir and columns. After the 1990 and 1991 earthquakes the bell towers were rebuilt in reinforced concrete.

San José received the title of city in 1813, which prompted construction of a worthy temple. Work began in 1825 under Eusebio Rodríguez with calicanto walls, and the church opened in 1827. It became a cathedral in 1850 when Anselmo Llorente y La Fuente was named first bishop of Costa Rica. After earthquake damage, Ramón Estrada completed a rebuild in 1878, adding the dome, pulpit and choir.

The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of San José, a title it received in 1850 when Anselmo Llorente y La Fuente became Costa Rica's first bishop. The wooden pulpit, choir and columns were made under Guatemalan carpenter Ramón Estrada, who finished the work in 1878. The bell towers now standing are reinforced-concrete reconstructions from the 1990s.

The cathedral sits at the intersection of Calle Central and Avenues 2 and 4 in downtown San José, within walking distance of other city attractions. Visitors should be aware that access may be limited during religious services and modest dress is respectfully requested.

During the 1972 widening of Avenida Segunda, earthworks on the cathedral's north side uncovered human remains from a colonial cemetery used between 1776 and 1813. The mid-19th-century calicanto chapel of the Sagrario was demolished and rebuilt in concrete nearer the main church, and the remains of several religious figures were moved from their mausoleum.