Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral
The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven presides over the Zocalo, Mexico City's vast main square, on the site of the former Aztec sacred precinct of Tenochtitlan. The largest cathedral in the Americas, it was built over nearly 250 years, from 1573 to 1813, and its long gestation produced a remarkable layering of architectural styles, from Renaissance and Baroque to Neoclassical.
Its twin bell towers, ornate facades, and great central dome rise above five naves and fourteen chapels rich with gilded altarpieces, including the dazzling Altar of the Kings. Built atop the soft, drained bed of Lake Texcoco, the cathedral has battled subsidence for centuries, and an ambitious engineering project in the 1990s stabilized its sinking, tilting structure.
Seat of the Archdiocese of Mexico and a centerpiece of the city's historic center, the cathedral is both an active place of worship and one of Mexico's most visited monuments, drawing crowds of tourists and faithful to its monumental interior and its commanding place at the symbolic heart of the country.
- Location
- 19.4344, -99.1331
- Local time
- 16:36 (America/Mexico_City)
🕘 Visiting hours
| Mon–Sun | 08:00–20:00 |
Open daily; areas may be cordoned off during Mass. Sacristía and crypt have shorter separate hours.
✨ Saints & blessed venerated here
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Our Lady of the Assumption Saint
Marian title to whom the cathedral is dedicated
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Saint Joseph Saint
Has a dedicated side chapel (Capilla de San José)
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Saint Peter Saint
Chapel of Saint Peter with a sculpture and 17th-c. paintings by Baltasar de Echave Orio
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Saint Isidore Saint
Has a dedicated side chapel (Capilla de San Isidro)
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Saints Cosmas and Damian Saint
Joint side chapel dedicated to the two physician martyrs
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Saint Eligius (San Eligio) Saint
Has a dedicated side chapel
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Philip of Jesus Saint
Mexican proto-martyr of Japan with a dedicated chapel (Capilla de San Felipe de Jesús)
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Our Lady of Antigua Saint
Marian chapel built 1653-1660 by the musicians' and organists' brotherhood
Care & donations
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico
Accepts donations; free entry to the cathedral
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