Tacámbaro Cathedral (Cathedral of St. Jerome)

There is no precise data recorded in books that establish a probable date for the beginning of its construction, but it is believed that it was between 1538 and 1570, when the foundation of Tacámbaro took place, also giving rise to an Augustinian convent.

During this time the Cathedral was devastated by three fires, according to the city chronicler, Vicente Gil Méndez; the last was on April 11, 1865, when the Belgians were defeated by Nicolás de Régules, which caused the parish priest Crisanto Gómez to decide to put a vault on the building, this work beginning in 1891 with the cooperation of the people.

Its bells are considered an important part of the history of the Cathedral itself. According to researcher Evelio Vargas Ornelas, the current bells are from the beginning of the 20th century, since the oldest ones were destroyed by the fires that occurred. There are four bells that are distributed according to the cardinal points: the first, facing north, was commissioned by Rafael Béjar on January 7, 1898 and is dedicated to San Rafael, which has visible holes made by bullets during the Revolution; the second is located to the south and was made on August 20, 1900, and is dedicated to San Ramón; the third is to the east and was commissioned by the priest Francisco Rubio in 1918, paid for by Vicente Herrera, and the fourth was commissioned in May 1915 and paid for by Teodoro Cavaría and is dedicated to the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The interior

The central altar consists of two bodies and a base. In the central part of the latter is the episcopal seat, and in the centre of the first body is a niche where the Christ of the Tablajeros or of Health is venerated, dating from the 18th century.

In the second body there is a sculpture of Saint Jerome dating from the 19th century. On the axis of the dome there are two altars formed by a single body of four columns each and six Ionic style pillars, composed of flowerpots and a medallion with a cross in the centre, retouched with gilded mouldings.

The Throne of God, an attraction, in the middle of the Cathedral, on the left side, is a chapel that was designed by Manuel González Galván and built in the 70s, it is neoclassical in style, composed of a small dome of reddish brick. In the center is the bronze sculpture The Throne of God, which was made by Miguel Velázquez Tracy and inspired by the Apocalypse; it measures 1.90 by 1.90 meters and was blessed on October 28, 1972. It contains stigmatized hands that symbolize Christ dead and resurrected, a two-edged sword that embodies the word of God that comes out of his mouth, seven flames that mean the Holy Spirit and the universal Church, seven horns that allude to the omnipotence of Christ and seven eyes that represent the presence of Christ everywhere. It is also made up of four figures, Bull, Lion, Man and Eagle, which symbolize animate and inanimate nature, as well as the evangelists Matthew, John, Mark and Luke, respectively.

The main nave is supported by pillars and arches of quarry stone separated by a distance of five metres, with a large copper dome that was previously made of white quarry stone but collapsed in the 1985 earthquake. Its general style corresponds to the 19th and early 20th centuries. The vault has a gilded plaster moulding with two arches.

The walls are divided by grey stone pillars in the Doric style and decorated in gold. The dome drum is circular and measures 6.50 metres high and eleven metres in diameter, and has Ionic style pillars.

The dome is hemispherical, rebuilt with a steel structure and covered on the outside with copper sheets and on the inside with plaster decorated in gold. Medallions of the evangelists John, Mark, Matthew and Luke can be seen beneath the drum.

The convent

During the reconstruction works of the Cathedral, after its damage during the 1985 earthquake, original remains of the 16th century convent were discovered. Among these are the northern corner of the main cloister, a monolithic column with its base, two complete arches, the two imposts on which the walls rest and a third arch that leads to the building where the Municipal Jail was.

The arches are believed to have been covered during the Revolution due to the shape of the ironwork, its shape and rustic appearance. Given the shape of the Cathedral, it is believed that one of them still exists hidden, so it will be up to the authorities to carry out the relevant investigations.