February 10, 2017 - The Cathedral

February 10, 2017

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 oversaw the giving of 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 venerating 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 just 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 on 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.

One day I visited and discovered an amazing museum tucked in a back corner.  It was filled with hundreds of years of Santa Cruz history, paintings of priests and leading citizens, gold and silver articles used by the church, and vestments of the priests.  I had never seen so much gold and silver in one place.

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.

You, like me, might not be Catholic, but at the Cathedral, you can experience the heart of Santa Cruz.

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