St. Joseph's Cathedral, F

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Fortaleza is a Catholic temple and historical monument, seat of the Archdiocese of Fortaleza, in Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. It was built on the site of the old Church of the Cathedral. The construction took forty years to complete, having been started in 1938 and inaugurated in 1978. It has capacity for 5,000 people and its towers reach 75 meters high. Occupying most of Praça Pedro II, also known as Praça da Sé, in the historical center of Fortaleza, the temple stands out for its architectural grandeur and the beauty of the stained glass windows. The French architect George Maunier signed the eclectic style project, with predominance of neo-Gothic and Romanesque elements and references to the Cologne Cathedral and Chartres Cathedral. Saint Joseph is the saint attached to the cathedral.

History

The first main chapel of the Matriz de Fortaleza had its construction authorized by the Royal Order of February 12, 1746. On January 12, 1795, Father Antônio José Álvares de Carvalho, then vicar general, hired José Gonçalves Ramos to finish the work. In 1821, the Matrix of St. Joseph was in ruins, needing to be rebuilt.

The village grew to the side of the Church of the Rosary, and then the procession of the Blessed Sacrament and all the images were passed on to it, and it became the headquarters until April 2, 1854, when the images returned to the reconstructed matrix .

On September 26, 1861, the first bishop of Ceará was named Luiz Antônio dos Santos and, automatically, the main church became a cathedral. In 1938, when Dom Manoel da Silva Gomes was bishop, a survey was made and it was found to be a crack in the bases of its construction, by the side of the sea. The church was then again condemned and demolished in the same year.

On August 15, 1939, the foundation stone of the new cathedral, designed by the French engineer George Mounier, was launched, and like the other, it took 39 years to complete. In apparent concrete, neo-Gothic style with predominance of eclectic and Romanesque elements, occupying a large part of Pedro II Square, was inaugurated on December 22, 1978 by the then Cardinal Archbishop of Fortaleza, Archbishop Aloísio Lorscheider.

In 2007, the cathedral underwent a renovation, with the verification of the structure and its renovation, in addition to the inclusion of new decorative elements in the inner part of the building.

The Crypt of the Cathedral, designed by the engineer Luciano Pamplona, ​​was inaugurated in 1962, honoring six saints who died young: St. Dominic Savio, St. Pancrazio (protector of German youth), St. Tarcisius and the sisters Maria Goretti, Inês and Luzia. For this reason, the then archbishop of Fortaleza, Dom Antônio de Almeida Lustosa, dedicated it to young people, calling it the Crypt of Adolescents. The Chapel of the Risen One and the Blessed Sacrament are found in the Crypt, as well as the remains of several prelates buried there: Monsignor Manoel da Silva Gomes, Monsignor José Quinderé, Monsignor Tito Guedes Cavalcante and Monsignor Antônio de Almeida Lustosa.

The Crypt was re-inaugurated on July 9, 2011, after a year and four months of renovation, in which a granite floor, a new lighting, an air conditioning system were placed, and the altar completed. Currently, the Crypt can accommodate 350 people seated.

On August 12, 2011, the new exterior lighting of the Cathedral was inaugurated, made with LED bulbs.

Source: https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catedral_Metropolitana_de_Fortaleza