Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama, Catholic cathedral in Casco Antiguo, Panama.

The Metropolitan Cathedral, designed by military engineer Nicolás Rodríguez, has a grey-brown stone facade with a round window and a curved roofline, flanked by two white towers with clock faces and pointed spires. Three arched doorways open into three naves, the central door largest with a statue before it. Inside, about 67 stone and brick cruciform columns support the roof, and the sanctuary sits seven steps above the nave floor.

Construction began in 1688 following the relocation from Panama Viejo after a pirate attack destroyed the original settlement. The building took over 100 years to complete while the new city developed around it.

The cathedral is dedicated to Our Lady of the Ancient, a devotion that originated with an image venerated in Seville Cathedral. On 31 May 2025 the Dicastery for Divine Worship granted a pontifical decree of canonical coronation to the Marian image here, the first such decree issued under Pope Leo XIV. The coronation took place on 9 September 2025, presided over by the Archbishop of Seville, José Ángel Saiz Meneses.

The cathedral stands on the west side of Plaza Mayor, on a raised platform six steps above street level, with one more step at the entrance. The three facade doors open directly into the three naves, so entry is level once you are on the platform.

The bells in the towers were made in the 18th century, gifts from Panamanian bishops transferred to South America; the originals from Panama Viejo melted partly in the 1737 fire. The relics of Saint Aurelio and Saint Getulius, brought from Seville, are kept complete.