St. Mark's Cathedral, Arica

St. Mark's Cathedral
Catedral de San Marcos
Map
LocationArica
Country Chile
DenominationRoman Catholic Church

The St. Mark's Cathedral [1] (Spanish: Catedral de San Marcos)[2] also called Arica Cathedral is a Catholic church that is located in the city of Arica[3] in the far north of Chile.[4] The building was a commission by the government of the Peruvian President José Balta to the workshops of the Frenchman Gustave Eiffel and originally intended for the Ancón resort.

The old mother church of Arica stood for 226 years, until the colony was destroyed by an earthquake on August 13, 1868. Because of this, a committee of ladies of Arica asked Balta that a new construction be designed for Arica. The request was accepted and the building was inaugurated in 1876 on the ruins of the old mother church.

In 1880, the city of Arica was occupied by the Chilean Army; however, until the early twentieth century, the parish of Arica remained part of the diocese of Arequipa, according to the orders of the Holy See. On February 27, 1910, the mayor of Arica, Maximo Lira, decreed the expulsion of Juan Vitaliano Berroa, parish priest of Arica and his assisting priest Juan Gualberto Guevara, being Peruvian, replacing them with Chilean military chaplains. The jurisdiction of Arica went to the Vicariate General Castrense of Chile and soon after (1911) was annexed to the Vicariate Apostolic of Tarapaca (current Diocese of Iquique).

  1. ^ Cathedral of St. Mark in Arica
  2. ^ Labbé, María Paulina Soto (2002-01-01). Cartografía cultural de Chile: directorio (in Spanish). Ocho Libros.
  3. ^ Sarabia, Rosa (2007-01-01). La poética visual de Vicente Huidobro (in Spanish). Vervuert. ISBN 9788484893110.
  4. ^ DK (2016-02-02). DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Chile & Easter Island. Penguin. ISBN 9781465453198.