The Cathedral
In the 1540s and 1550s, Santa Cruz was settled by the conquistador,
Ňuflo de Chavez. It was farther east of
the present city, but by 1622 the current city was consolidated in the current
location and named Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the Holy Cross of the Hills.
Before it was given the name Santa Cruz, it was named after
the church established here, San Lorenzo the Martyr. The church was probably built in the late
1500s, meaning it is older than the British colonies that later became the
United States. San Lorenzo, or Saint
Lawrence, if I have done my research correctly, was a deacon of the church in
Rome, during the time of the persecution of Emperor Valerian. As a deacon, he was in charge of giving alms
to the poor, but would not hand over the money to the Romans. Differing traditions say he was either roasted
alive, or was decapitated, which was the preferred Roman method at the time.
I am not a Catholic and I do not follow the tradition of
revering the Saints, but I believe their lives give us great examples of how
we should live for Christ. I think that
is something missing in the teachings of the Protestant churches. When a student of mine says he is a Catholic,
not a Christian, I always correct him, knowing that Catholic is a different
group of Christians than what I belong to.
My life has been blessed with many devote Catholic Christians. We are both Christians; we just shine our
lights to the world differently.
The Cathedral was rebuilt in the early 1800s, so the
building you see is 200 years old, which is older than almost anything in my
home-state of Texas, except the Alamo.
Inside are niches dedicated to the Virgin Mary and San
Lorenzo. Along the walls are very nice
paintings of the stations of the Cross.
At the back, near the altar is a beautiful little chapel that has a
painting of Christ leaving the tomb. I
think that painting is so beautiful. It
is how I imagine Christ that Easter morning.
If you ever visit Santa Cruz, you need to arrange your visit
to come when the Cathedral is open. And
be sure to come in the morning because the bell tower is open. You can climb to the top and get a scenic
view of Santa Cruz from here and if you time your visit right, you can watch
the bells ringing.
Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify God.
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