Hello dear friends of the community that has inspired me to value differently the design and architecture of everything around me. I wish you well!!
I grew up in a Catholic home where the tradition is to visit 7 churches every year during Holy Week.
When I became independent and left my mother's house, I started to have my own rituals and the truth is that I had not done this practice for years.
At this point in my life, my mother is 86 years old and I liked the idea of pleasing her and accompanying her to visit the 7 temples. She is a lady with excellent health and disposition, so I decided to make this "religious" adventure through the capital of my country.
My mother for many years, has made the following circuit alone or accompanied, always walking.
And why do the practitioners of Catholicism perform this ritual, what is its meaning?
Visiting the 7 temples symbolizes the intention of accompanying Jesus on the road traveled from the night of his capture until his crucifixion.
As you will notice in my post, I dedicated myself to enjoy the company and presence of my mother and to enjoy the spectacular architecture of our churches.
I was like a child with a new toy, that is to say, happy and amazed at the architectural richness we have in the center of the city of Caracas.
I did not take many pictures of the images of Jesus on the cross, because I sincerely do not wish to remember in that way one of the greatest leaders that ever lived.I wish to remember Jesus as the great teacher of universal love.
In this tour I could perceive the existence of different details in the design of doors, domes, columns, windows, facades, roofs of each church. I had never noticed it before and I love this new sharpness that has awakened in me, and it is good that I have you to share this personal discovery.
We started the circuit at 8:20 am on the morning of Holly Friday.
This was the order of the churches visited:
1San Jose del Avila Church,
2Our Lady of Mercy Church,
3Altagracia Church,
4Santa Capilla Church,
5The Catedral Church,
6San Francisco Church,
7Santa Teresa Church.
It was an enriching, fascinating and discovery tour of my city, it's ironic but that's how it was. I plan to go back to look for more details of those churches.
San Jose del Ávila Church
This photo was taken from a footbridge at the end of a well known highway in Caracas, called Cota Mil.
My mother got married in this church, here I made my first communion.
When I was little I was a little rebellious, I remember that while my mother was listening to mass, I escaped from the church and walked home without warning. My mom thought I was playing in the beautiful church garden.
You can imagine how scared my mother was when the mass ended and she didn't see me. I don't want to tell you the punishment I received when she came home.
This church is beautiful! I loved visiting it after 30 years. Its gardens are so nice.
It has something that sets it apart from many others: it has only the religious figures of St. Joseph, Christ and St. Benedict.
It was created in 1945. It has been remodeled several times. I think it is easy to access, it is located at the end of Baralt Avenue northbound, there is public transportation that goes to the main entrance.
Our Lady of Las Mercedes Church
You can observe the movement of parishioners and merchants surrounding the church. Doing the tour early in the day is the most advisable, as the day goes by the streets and churches are more visited.
It has 3 entrances, iIt has 3 entrances, its domes are imposing, wide and at the same time simples.
In 1960 it was declared a National Historic Monument.My mother says that this church is known to have been damaged by earthquakes and earthquakes at different times in its history. It is one of the oldest churches in Caracas.
In this church I was struck by the huge wooden doors, the design of the interior ceiling and the abundance of arches in its spaces.
On the visit to the 7 temples, we met Sara, a great friend of my mom's and she joined the tour.
Note the design of the ceiling and the ornaments on the top of the wooden door, they have castle designs.
In this visit to the 7 temples, for the first time I realized that each confessional has a different design and shape, in this church the ceilings are more pointed than the ones I saw in the other churches.
Long dark-colored lamps abound and contrast with the white ceilings.
Our Lady of Altagracia
Our Lady of Altagracia. This church has also been rebuilt several times, having been the victim of some earthquakes. It is one block away from Las Mercedes church.
It is imposing, it is located in the same block where the Central Bank of Venezuela is located. At the time we arrived it was quite crowded. I am impressed by its facade, it also has 3 entrances which were kept open that day. The ceilings are so high that the atmosphere inside remains cool
Look at the detail of the interior ceiling, it is extraordinarily beautiful! The teardrop lamps were all in excellent condition. It looks like a fairy tale castle.
The main altar is stunning. I loved rediscovering these details that I ignored on previous visits.
Solid wood doors feature beautiful details in the relief of the surface.
The Basilica Minor Santa Capilla
I present to you another national historical monument of my country, so it was declared in 1.979.
I can confess that this church became my favorite, it is beautiful and impressive both inside and on its façade. I like that it stays in such good shape.
It is located one block from the Altagracia church. In this Tour you can visit 3 churches in a short time due to its proximity.
Stained glass windows and angular arches abound inside.
Its external part is rich in design details. Contemplating it invites me to study about the architectural styles and influences that our history has had. In this church I wanted to stay longer, enjoying its exterior design.
It was 9:40 am and you can see that there were a lot more crowds of people than in the previous ones.
Caracas Cathedral
The cathedral is also a National Historic Monument.
Then we continued walking, in approximately 10 minutes we were able to reach the Cathedral. It is located in the famous Plazar Bolívar in Caracas.
It looked like it was going to rain, but it didn't.
Large and long lamps illuminate the spaces decorated with white and beige colors. The arches of this church are wide and rounded
The floor of the street that surrounds it is made of stones, it is in good condition.
internally it has several small chapels, specifically in the chapel of La Trinidad are the mortal remains of the wife and father of our liberator Simón Bolívar.
The Church of San Francisco
National Monument.This church is located in the heart of Caracas, one block from the Capitolio station.
This church is always very crowded during Holy Week.
Its real name is the Church of Our Lady Immaculate Conception, but it is better known as San Francisco, since the Franciscan priests were there.
Another beauty of a church, wooden ceiling, golden altars
There are many bars inside the church, to separate the spaces for different saints.
Basilica of Santa Teresa
National monument
It is one of the most important temples for believers.Every Holy Wednesday, they carry out a procession with the image of the Nazarene of San Plablo that belongs to that church.
Observe the beauty of the construction and exterior design of the church.
The exterior design of this church is worth admiring. The church occupies an entire block.
It is located in front of the Simón Bolívar Center, a place with a lot of political and social history in Venezuela.
Bronze representation of the mystical eagle of Saint Teresa of the child Jesus.
This church is so important to Venezuelans that every year they decorate it with orchids. The orchid is our national flower. This year they used approximately 5,000 orchids for decoration.
This anecdote is famous: Years ago, on Good Friday, the church was full of believers. A joker came up with the idea of joking and shouting "the church is burning", which caused anguish, despair and a stampede among those present who were dead. Terrible this anecdote, but true.
It was a pleasure to have done the historical-religious tour in my hometown in half a day.
I had never enjoyed and rediscovered it like I did this time.
I wanted to investigate more about the cultural influences that my country received at the time of the construction and remodeling of the churches.
I invite you to go for a walk in your city, be interested in your history and discover the infinite messages and news that there are for you, the experience is extremely enriching.
Thanks for reading this post with me.
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