Guarenas Cathedral, officially known as the Our Lady of Copacabana Cathedral (Spanish: Catedral de Nuestra Señora de Copacabana de Guarenas), is a Roman Catholic cathedral located on Ambrosio Plaza Street, adjacent to Bolívar Square, in the city of Guarenas, Miranda State, Venezuela. It serves as the episcopal seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Guarenas.
History
The first church on the site was built in rudimentary form in 1621. It was damaged by an earthquake in 1766. In the early 19th century, the structure was rebuilt on a much larger scale. A major renovation took place in 1950, based on plans by architect Oreste Giovanni Della Piana. In January 1997, the church was elevated to the status of a cathedral by Pope John Paul II through the papal bull Maiori christifidelium, establishing it as the seat of the newly created Diocese of Guarenas.
Architecture and Features
The cathedral houses objects and relics of significant historical and religious value. Its design reflects the colonial and neoclassical architectural traditions common to many Venezuelan Catholic churches.
Dedication
The cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the title of Our Lady of Copacabana, a devotion that originated in the territory of present-day Bolivia and spread throughout Spanish America beginning in 1583.
Location
The cathedral is situated in Guarenas, a city in the Ambrosio Plaza Municipality of Miranda State, which functions as a satellite city of Caracas, the national capital.
