Monthly Archives: December 2018

This is the most important church in Pátzcuaro, because it is the cathedral that Vasco de Quiroga founded and began to construct in 1540, and which was a truly grandiose project. The church may be observed in the coat of arms of the city. It is composed of five equal-sized vaults that meet in the center, where the high altar is placed. This design represented for Don Vasco a solution to the problem of the multitudes of faithful, who could not be contained in a single temple and who the friars had resorted to serving in “open chapels”, which we will describe later. “Tata” Vasco proposed building a composite temple of five churches, capable of holding all the faithful at once. However, that project was never completed because the experts in construction at the time considered the size dangerous due to the earthquakes that constantly rocked the region. Another version of the story says that the construction was not carried out because the Vatican considered it an act of arrogance and a potential competitor in size and importance with the Basílica of Saint Peter in Rome. However, the only vault constructed served as cathedral from the arrival of the  Jesuits […]

This building is located at the corner of Árciga and Alcantarilla streets, one block south of the Basílica. It was founded in 1540 by don Vasco de Quiroga, who named it Saint Nicholas in honor of the patron saint of his native town, Madrigal de las Altas Torres. Don Vasco’s purpose in establishing this school was to create an educational center for Spanish priests, something lacking not only in his bishopric, but in all of New Spain. It is said that its curriculum was so good, that when years later the Council of Trent ordered the construction of new seminaries to prepare priests, the organization of those study centers was a near-copy of what don Vasco had taught in his own school. It is said that this school is the oldest college in the Americas -although it operates currently with different goals and in a new location. When the episcopal see was transferred to Valladolid, the college transferred also, uniting its faculty and holdings  with the college of San Miguel. Becoming one, both colleges continued operations until the institution was finally moved to the current University of San Nicolás de Hidalgo. Thus, the original name given by its creator has […]