The first church that was built at the current Parish’s location was a small very rustic chapel that was established on April 15, 1883, by Father Sabino Virute in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe.
The foundations for a new church were started in 1903. In 1915 Father Francisco Ayala arrived and he, with foresight, suggested a bigger temple than the one they were working on. So the existing new construction was demolished and new stronger and deeper foundations were built.
The main tower is still under construction in this photo (so the photo is pre-1955).
The existing foundations were strengthened and finished by 1917, including the main pillars and walls. Construction really began in earnest in the early 1920s around the still functioning chapel, including the blessing of the Eucharistic or the major bell in 1926. The official start date, celebrated at the church each year with a mass, is October 12, 1921.
Construction work halted completely in 1926 when a conflict between church and state escalated to outright war, known as the Cristero War, which ended in 1929.
Church construction started again in 1929 and in 1930 the dome (cupola) was finished. By 1940 the entire building was finished, except the main bell tower and the two smaller flanking towers.
On December 12, 1951, the chancel and the Hammond organ installed in it were used for the first time (notice the date). The father at that time, Rafael Parra wanted the belfry finished by that date, but this wouldn’t be the case until 1952. The main tower above the belfry continued beyond 1952 and was finished in 1955.
The Crown
The crown on the Guadalupe Church Tower in downtown Puerto Vallarta
To “crown” the Parish, what better than a crown. It was built in 1963 and placed on the main tower in 1965 (based on the city historian, Carlos Munguía Fregoso). It was sketched by the priest Rafael Parra Castillo, the same person who designed the tower. The original crown was designed and sculpted by José Esteban Ramírez Guareño in 1965.
The crown IS NOT, as normally found online, a replica of one supposedly worn by Carlota, the mistress of Emperor Maximilian in the 1800s, which furthermore – as explained on the Parish website – only would have been a tiara based on her hierarchy within the nobility.
