AttractionThe Church of the Immaculate ConceptionReal de Catorce

In the founding of La Purisima Concepcion de Catorce, miners pledged and signed in 1779 to donate a weekly amount of silver for the construction of this temple. Until 1790, it was cared for by Franciscan monks from the convent of Charcas. That same year, the church was elevated to the status of ‘parish’, then relying on the bishop from Guadalajara, and the parish was transferred to the secular clergy. Its deterioration and small size, lead to the construction of another larger parish. In 1797, when the Bishop Cabañas visited the town, it was then home to 7,300 people.  The construction of the church was not finished at that time, but the wooden ceiling, eight altarpieces, and an image of the Immaculate Conception in a window superimposed on the main altar were already in place. The dome collapsed in 1800 and rebuilt shortly afterwards. By 1807, Juan Crouset, a military engineer and academic student of the Royal Academy of San Carlos, was working on the project. He is credited with the current neoclassical facade. The refurbished church was opened in 1817. The neo-Gothic altarpiece dedicated to St. Francis dates from the late nineteenth century. In 1905, the drop in the price silver caused the abandonment of Real de Catorce. During the Revolution, church services were halted and the parish was expropriated. In 1939, Father Albino Enriquez rescued and restored it. He was responsible for refurbishing the temple and raising the tower where the clock donated by Porfirio Díaz was placed, during his visit to the Santa Ana mine in 1895.   The facade of the parish bears the image of the Immaculate Conception, and contains Doric elements. Inside, the removable mesquite wood pallet floor and frescoes from the nineteenth century baptistery all call attention. In the cross section is the magnificent neoclassical altar of St. Joseph which retains its original plaster, and a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe signed by Jose de Alcíbar. Housed in the nave is the altarpiece of San Francisco, finished with a painting of Our Lady of Refuge, the patron saint of miners, and near to the sacristy is the collection of votive offerings donated by grateful pilgrims.

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