Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral — Attraction in Autonomous City of Buenos Aires

While it’s history traces back to late 1500s when Jesuit friars constructed their first church using mud, wood and adobe, the present day building 3rd cathedral) was built in the late 1770s without the facade…

The facade was completed in the early 1800s just before or around the independence of Argentina.

As is today, this is a typical Neoclassical architecture. Simple flat lines, simple columns. Certainly none of the ostentatious decorations of the Baroque or Spanish Baroque, nor the grandeur of the Renaissance. Elegant and sturdy building nonetheless.

The interior has a grand nave and aisles. High rounded ceilings. There are the typical idols as one expects from the catholic organization.

This was once the seat of archbishop Bergoglio, before he was elected pope and called himself Francis.

THERE ARE TWO NOTABLE FACTS about this place.

🏛️ 🏛️🏛️ this is when the remains of General San Martin lay. He is considered one of the founding fathers of Argentina who led during the May Revolution of Independence. His remains were brought from France in 1880 and placed in a mausoleum.

🎨🎨🎨 the other is a Sculpture of Barefooted Man Wrapped in Blanket on one side of the pillars near the high altar… titled “Cristo de...

I'm far from being a church-going guy, but I do appreciate the architecture and grandeur of these places of worship.

If you're visiting Casa Rosada, you must make the short walk across the street to this church which was completed in 1791 and was the former place of worship for the current Pope Fracis. The church was rebuilt several times which probably explains its mixed style of architecture. The exterior doesn't look like a traditional church at all, but as you enter, the beautiful mosaic floors give way to an impressive interior. The nave is tall and grand with unornamented ceilings decorated with just a few frescos. There are quite a few sculptures, altarpieces, and even a mausoleum inside.

Entry is free and crowds...

Visitamos a Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires com olhar atento à técnica, à arte e à função litúrgica do espaço. A fachada neoclássica, com seu frontão triangular sustentado por doze colunas coríntias, lembra deliberadamente um templo greco-romano, remetendo a um ideal de solenidade e ordem. O alto-relevo no frontão retrata o encontro entre José e seus irmãos, dando à entrada um caráter narrativo bíblico e simbólico, que prepara espiritualmente quem adentra o edifício. A inscrição em latim “Benedic Hereditati Tuae” reforça a invocação solene à bênção divina sobre o povo de Deus.

O interior revela-se grandioso. A nave central abobadada estende-se com requinte clássico e monumentalidade barroca tardia. A luz natural, filtrada pelas cúpulas e janelas laterais, projeta feixes suaves sobre colunas de mármore e paredes decoradas com afrescos de temática sacra. O presbitério, ricamente ornado, conduz o olhar até o altar-mor, que acolhe a escultura da Assunção de Maria — envolta por colunas salomônicas douradas —, com clara influência do barroco italiano e espanhol.

Capelas laterais emolduram imagens da Virgem e dos santos, entre elas a de Nossa Senhora de Luján, padroeira da Argentina, apresentada com vestes celestes sob um baldaquino delicado. Uma dessas capelas guarda também o túmulo do General José de San Martín, herói nacional, ladeado por guardas simbólicos que evocam a dignidade e a memória cívica da nação.

O púlpito entalhado em madeira e douramento realça o valor da pregação, sustentado por figuras alegóricas e com pintura no teto inferior — um detalhe que exalta a sacralidade da palavra proclamada. O órgão e o coro, situados sobre a entrada, completam a estrutura musical e litúrgica do templo com excelência acústica.

Cada detalhe revela um templo que, além de sede episcopal, é também guardião da memória nacional, expressão artística e espaço de fé. A visita é marcante tanto para quem busca a arte quanto para quem procura um instante de...