Metropolitan Cathedral: The Greek Temple Guarding San Martín

Stand in front of the facade and look closely: this doesn't look like a typical cathedral. There are no towers, no bell tower. It has twelve Corinthian columns, like a Greek temple. They were designed in 1822 by French architects Próspero Catelin and Pedro Benoit, and each column represents one of the twelve apostles. Above, in the triangular pediment, there's a relief carved between 1860 and 1863 by French sculptor Joseph Dubourdieu. It shows the biblical reunion between Joseph and his brothers in Egypt, a scene of forgiveness after betrayal. That's no accident: it was carved just a few decad…

This cathedral wasn't built all at once. There was a first adobe church on this exact spot, just a few years after Juan de Garay founded Buenos Aires for the second time, in 1580. That building collapsed. Another was raised, and it fell too. The version you see today began construction in 1753, almost two centuries after the city's founding. And the most important part was still missing: today's facade, with its columns, was only completed in 1822 — sixty-nine years after the work began. Entire generations of porteños lived and died watching this cathedral half-finished. By the time the facade…

Go inside and look up. The central dome rises forty-one meters above the cathedral's crossing. The floor is covered in tiny Venetian mosaics, brought specially from Europe. The main altar is baroque, carved in wood, and holds a crucified Christ made of algarrobo wood dating from 1671: it's the oldest religious image preserved anywhere in the city of Buenos Aires. On the sides, fourteen paintings depict the Stations of the Cross. They were painted by Italian artist Francesco Domenighini and were actually meant for another church, the Basílica del Pilar, but turned out too large for that buildin…

In the right side aisle stands the mausoleum of General José de San Martín, the man who liberated Argentina, Chile, and Peru from Spanish rule. San Martín died in France, in the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, on August 17, 1850. He lived in exile, almost forgotten by the country he had given independence to. Only thirty years later, in 1880, were his remains repatriated. They arrived in Buenos Aires on May 28 of that year, aboard the ship Villarino, and were welcomed with an enormous popular celebration. French sculptor Carrier-Belleuse designed this marble mausoleum, guarded by three female statue…

Look at the two grenadiers standing next to the mausoleum. They don't move, don't speak, don't react. Every morning, a group of seven grenadiers marches from Casa Rosada to here, just a few blocks away. Two of them stand guard in front of San Martín's tomb. Every two hours, the other five return and the changing of the guard takes place, with a military choreography that hasn't changed in more than a century. At the end of the day, all seven walk back to Casa Rosada. The Mounted Grenadier Regiment was founded by San Martín himself in 1812, before crossing the Andes. Today, guarding his tomb is…

From 1998 to 2013, the archbishop of this cathedral was Jorge Mario Bergoglio. For fifteen years, he celebrated Mass at this very altar, walked through these same aisles, and became known for getting around by subway and bus instead of an official car, and for personally visiting Buenos Aires' poorest slums. On March 13, 2013, the world learned that Bergoglio had been elected Pope, taking the name Francis. He was the first Latin American Pope in history and the first to take the name Francis, in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. The cathedral where he had been a relatively austere archbishop b…

Throughout Argentine history, this cathedral was the primatial see of the country's Catholic Church: the leading church, above all others. That changed on September 7, 2024, when the Vatican transferred that title to the Cathedral of Santiago del Estero, a decision that surprised many Argentines. But this building's symbolic weight doesn't depend on an administrative title. San Martín rests here. Bergoglio celebrated Mass here before becoming Pope. Here, facing this very square, the paths of faith and Argentine political power crossed for more than four centuries. Casa Rosada governs. The Cabi…