Exterior The façade of the Cathedral of Lima is in the
Renaissance style with
Plateresque decorations. Its tall towers with slate spires are
Neoclassical with stylistic influences from
El Escorial School and Northern Europe. It has three doors, as in most cathedrals. The main one (the one in the center) is called
Puerta del Perdón, the right side is called
Puerta de la Epístola and the left side is called
Puerta del Evangelio. There are also two side doors, one that leads to the Calle de Judíos (right side) and another that leads to the Patio de los Naranjos (inner courtyard attached to the cathedral). In the back of the cathedral (Calle de Santa Apolonia) there are 2 other portals: Santa Apolonia and San Cristóbal. On the main façade you can see statues of the Apostles, and in the central
niche, the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Currently, in the upper part you can see the coat of arms of Peru, in the place where the coat of arms of the city of Lima was originally located together with the phrase
Plus Ultra. Next to the cathedral are the
Church of the Sanctuary (one of the oldest in Lima) and the
Archbishop's Palace, seat of the ecclesiastical government of Lima. File:Lima Cathedral St Matthew.jpg|Sculpture of
Saint Matthew on the main portal. File:Lima Cathedral St Adrew.jpg|Sculpture of
Saint Andrew on the main portal. File:Catedral, Plaza de Armas, Lima, Perú, 2015-07-28, DD 31.JPG|Sculpture of
Jesus and colonial details. File:Catedral, Plaza de Armas, Lima, Perú, 2015-07-28, DD 30.JPG|A bell tower.
Interior The Cathedral of Lima shows several styles, from
late Gothic,
Renaissance to
Baroque and
Plateresque, due to the date of the start of construction, the architectural style is
Renaissance. It has a rectangular hall plan, emulating the
Cathedral of Seville. The ceiling is supported by
Gothic ribbed vaults that recreate a starry sky, which are made of wood and stucco to relieve the weight on the walls and prevent them from collapsing in the event of an earthquake. Originally its altars were Baroque in style, some of them being replaced by Neoclassical altars. The choir stalls, although presenting a Renaissance tradition, have an eclectic layout. In its chapels and sacristy it preserves works by the most famous sculptors of the colonial era in Peru. The cathedral itself is a perfect synthesis of the architectural styles that were developed in the city of Lima from its origins to the present day.
Naves The Cathedral of Lima has three naves and two additional naves where the side chapels open. Along the side naves, large-format paintings of the
Via Crucis can be seen.
Pope John Paul II visited this site twice, in 1985 and 1988, which is commemorated on two plaques that can be seen at the entrance. ribs.
Chapels •
Chapel of Our Lady of the Expectation: it hosts the old
baptistery, with its
baptismal font. Preserved there is a sculpture of the
Virgin Mary that forms part of the processional Marian group during local
Holy Week celebrations, and that traditionally also presides over the cult of
Lent. Recent restorations made it possible to discover the old polychromy that covered the chapel, which is now exposed. •
Chapel of the Holy Family: preserved here are ancient
polychrome wood carvings of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The walls feature two large oval paintings with the images of
Saint Peter and
Saint Paul, and four wooden panels that belonged to the old choir stalls. This had been the
guild chapel of the city's
carpenters' guild. •
Chapel of Our Lady of the Antique (Los Reyes): it currently receives the name of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Antique, as the one located in the
retrochoir and that was under the patronage of the
National University of San Marcos. In the past, students received their academic degrees there. The
altarpiece housed in this chapel, in
Neoclassical style made in 1799, is attributed to the Spaniard and is presided over by an image of the Our Lady of the Antique (from the mid-16th century), Patron Saint of the university since 1627, is a true copy of the
Virgin of Los Remedios of
Seville, and two wooden statues stand out, of
Saint Mark and
Saint Thomas Aquinas, coming from the old Chapel of the university in the current
Plaza Bolívar. The columns of the altarpiece are painted with different colors, each symbolizing the original faculties of the university. •
Chapel of Peruvian Saints: it is presided over by the image of
Saint Rose of Lima, the first saint in the Americas, together with those of
Saint Martin de Porres,
Saint John Macias and
Saint Francisco Solano, Peruvian saints. It was originally dedicated to Rose of Lima shortly after her canonization, and was initially located in the now defunct Church of Belén. In it is the tomb of Mons.
Emilio Lissón, 27th Archbishop of Lima, currently in the process of beatification. Then, over the door that leads to the Patio de los Naranjos, the monumental
pipe organ commissioned by the 20th Archbishop of Lima
Francisco Xavier de Luna Pizarro, built in
Belgium by the organ builder Hippolyte Loret (1810-1879), can be seen, disused for over 60 years. •
Chapel of the Immaculate Conception: it is one of the few chapels that retains its primitive
Baroque altar, since many have Neoclassical altars, after the reforms made by the Presbyter , who respected this one for its beauty. The altar is dominated by the image of , a 16th-century wood carving sent by
King Charles I. It is one of the first images of the Virgin to reach the
New World. In her right hand, she holds the
Golden Rose, a papal decoration conferred by
John Paul II in 1988 on his second visit to Peru and which has very few Marian devotions. On the left wall of the chapel there is a large-format painting of
Saint Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer, founder of
Opus Dei, made in 2005 for the 30th anniversary of his death and to commemorate the moment in which this saint visited this same chapel in 1974. The painting replaced the sepulcher altarpiece of Archbishop Diego Morcillo, located in that place for more than two centuries and which was relocated in another chapel of the cathedral. In the altarpiece there are also figures of a Nativity that according to tradition was the first in the city of Lima, commissioned by the daughter of
Francisco Pizarro. The walls feature
azulejos found after a restoration. At the entrance to the
sacristy, a bas-relief of the Adoration of the Shepherds, from the 16th century—one of the oldest pieces in the cathedral—can be seen, which presided over the main altar of the first cathedral. On the right, a painting of
Our Lady of Guadalupe. In addition, medallions of
La Dolorosa and the
Ecce Homo, and carvings of
Saint Ambrose and
Saint Augustine, can be seen. •
Chapel of Our Lady of Peace: this chapel is where the
Blessed Sacrament is currently reserved. On the left wall there is a painting of
Saint John the Evangelist, Patron Saint of the cathedral, giving Communion to the Virgin; and to the right is the tomb of the Servant of God Friar Francisco Camacho. •
Chapel of Saint John the Baptist: its altarpiece presents
polychrome reliefs alluding to the life of the saint. It is dominated by a large crucifix, one of the oldest in the cathedral. Its altarpiece was made by the famous Sevillian sculptor
Juan Martínez Montañés, and brought to the New World by ship for several years. It is considered among the best altarpieces of the cathedral building, although it originally belonged to the Church of the Concepction in
Abancay Avenue. •
Chapel of Our Lady of the Candle: its altarpiece is the work of Matías Maestro in his Baroque-Neoclassical transitional style. •
Chapel of Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo: it is dedicated to Mogrovejo, the second Archbishop of Lima and Patron of the Latin American episcopate, whose remains are preserved in the Cathedral (a reliquary with his relics can be seen on this altar). In this chapel other reliquaries with episcopal ornaments of the saint can be seen on the walls. On the left is the tomb of Cardinal
Juan Landázuri Ricketts, 30th Archbishop of Lima, and on the right, a large painting that shows the episode of the theft of some hosts from the neighbouring
Church of the Sanctuary (the hosts were miraculously found, it is said, in the neighboring
Rímac District, where the
Church of Santa Liberata currently stands, there is another painting that shows the moment of the discovery). Like the altarpiece of Saint Rose of Lima, it originally belonged to the now defunct Church de Belén. Above the side door is the gallery for the choir, with its organ. •
Chapel of Saint John the Evangelist: formerly the Chapel of Santa Ana, it houses the tomb of
Nicolás de Ribera (the Elder), the first
mayor of Lima, on its left wall. Its altarpiece is built in the Baroque-Neoclassical transitional style. •
Chapel of the Visitation: the group of the
Visitation can be seen presiding over it. To the left is a Risen Christ who leaves in triumphal procession on
Easter Sunday. •
Chapel of the Souls: it is the sepulcher chapel of the Archbishop of
La Plata and Lima, and
Viceroy of Peru, Friar
Diego Morcillo Rubio de Auñón, originally dedicated to the Souls in Purgatory. The sepulcher altarpiece was originally located on one side of the Chapel of la Concepción, and bears the authentic image of that chapel, which in turn replaced the carving of Diego Morcillo, the same one that is exhibited separately in the same environment. •
Chapel of Saint Joseph: it is dedicated to Saint Joseph, with polychrome reliefs on the altarpiece alluding to his life. Some reliefs of the life of the Virgin are also exhibited in this area of the nave. The sculptural group of the Holy Family that presides over the altar is due to the sculptor
Pedro Muñoz de Alvarado.
Defunct chapels •
Chapel of San Bartolomé: It was located behind the presbytery and separated from it by an
ambulatory. The main altarpiece, of Tuscan order, consisted of three bodies and had as its main part a canvas of the martyrdom of
Saint Bartholomew. In the same enclosure was the sepulcher altarpiece of the Archbishop of Lima,
Bartolomé Lobo Guerrero, with three bodies in imitation marble. The sculpture of the Archbishop can still be appreciated as part of the tour of the Cathedral Museum. •
Chapel of Our Lady of the Antique: It was in the back room of the church. In its main altarpiece was originally the canvas of
Our Lady of la Antigua, now in the chapel of the Kings. A text from the 17th century describes the original Baroque altarpiece, mentioning the existence of twelve
Solomonic columns and thirty paintings of the Virgin, in addition to the canvas that is the title of the altarpiece. The chapel disappeared with the reforms undertaken at the end of the 19th century, together with four other auxiliary chapels of the first one, which were located on the sides of the choir.
Choir stalls The impressive
choir stalls, currently flanking the main altar, was designed by the Spaniard
Martín Alonso de Mesa and made by the Catalan
Pedro de Noguera in the 17th century. In the backs we see figures of numerous male saints and female saints (Apostles, Doctors, Popes, Bishops, virgins, etc.), Formerly the choir was located in front of the main altar (a position similar to that of the
Cathedral of Mexico City). On the back of the
Cathedra (which is located in the left stalls, under a
canopy) is the figure of the Redeemer. The main altarpiece, in
Neoclassical style, is presided over by an Immaculate Conception. Under the presbytery is the
crypt of the Archbishops, where the remains of almost all the archbishops of this city are found, from
Jerónimo de Loayza (the first) to Cardinal
Augusto Vargas Alzamora, the last to die. The Neoclassical
pulpit is crowned by an image of
Saint John the Evangelist, and the crucifix that remains in front, by a Paschal Lamb. In the transept of the nave, we see 4 statues (2 on each side) of Saint John the Evangelist, Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint James the Greater. It is the work of the Spanish builder
Matías Maestro, who led the renovation of the old Liman
Baroque altars, replacing them with Neoclassical altars. File:Sillería del coro, Catedral de Lima, Peru.jpg|Cathedral choir stalls. File:Sillería del coro, Catedral de Lima, Peru-02.jpg|Male saints and female saints of the choir stalls. File:Sillería del coro, Catedral de Lima, Peru-03.jpg|Upper detail of the choir stalls
Crypt of Francisco Pizarro at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Lima. In the right nave, starting again from the entrance, is first the
crypt of Francisco Pizarro, completely covered with mosaics alluding to the Conquest. On one of the walls you can see the coat of arms of Lima. In the
sarcophagus it is seen that the head is separated from the body, possibly detached by multiple manipulations to which its remains were exposed. The original body was discovered in the early 20th century. In front of the sarcophagus, there is a small chest containing earth from his hometown,
Trujillo. Formerly, when entering the Cathedral of Lima, it was always thought that Pizarro's body was the one that was presented in a glass urn located in an altar of the Cathedral itself. Precisely the tourist guides indicated the right side, near the entrance, the altar was made of marble, and there was a mummified skeleton, of a saffron color. In 1891, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of his death, it was decided to publicly display his remains in this place, and since then it has been a must for everyone who visits Lima. In 1977 the cathedral was subjected to restoration when some workers of the crypt of the cathedral, accidentally came across a lead box with some blurred inscriptions. Behind a wall was a niche where they found the box. The inscription read:
Here is the head of the Lord Marquis Don Francisco Pizarro, who discovered and won the kingdoms of Peru and placed in the Royal Crown of Castile. Next to it was found a coffin lined on the inside with velvet, containing a large number of bones. A team of scientists managed to determine that those remains belonged to a woman, two children, and an adult male who was later found to be Pizarro. In addition, these scientists worked long months to determine the origin of these remains. In this chapel was originally the altarpiece of the Cristo del Auxilio, now in the Chapel of Santa Ana.
Sacristy and Chapter House Returning to the
Sacristy and already entering it, we find ourselves in the
ante-sacristy, also called the
room of zodiac, since on its walls there are 12 paintings painted in the Bassano workshop, alluding to the 12 zodiacal signs. Attached is the
Sala Mons. Alberto Brazzini, inaugurated in honor of the prelate, who died on 29 May 2001, who was the Auxiliary Bishop of Lima. Numerous objects of religious art are exhibited here, his heritage and donated by the family to the cathedral; besides some of his episcopal ornaments and jewels. Moving on to the
Sacristy, we see the large
chest of drawers the work of the Basque
Juan Martínez de Arrona, with wooden panels decorated with images of Christ, the twelve apostles,
Saint Joseph and
Saint John the Baptist; as well as the twelve articles of faith of the Apostles' Creed on each panel. Beautiful ancient liturgical vestments are also on display here. Finally, we arrived at the
Chapter House, where the members of the Ecclesiastical Council used to meet (and continue to meet on Saturday afternoons). On the walls there are medallions of all the Archbishops of Lima, with a review of each one. Vestments and ornaments used by
Pope John Paul II on his two visits to Peru, sacred vessels that were his gifts to the Peruvian Church and some clothing of the former archbishops are also exhibited here.
Burials •
Francisco Pizarro •
Diego Morcillo Rubio de Auñón, Archbishop of La Plata and Lima, and Viceroy of Peru • Saint
Turibius of Mogrovejo •
Jerónimo de Loayza •
Augusto Vargas Alzamora •
Luigi Arrigoni •
Juan Guevara •
Antonio de Mendoza •
Juan Landázuri Ricketts ==See also==