Puntarenas, Costa Rica: Catedral Nuestra Señora del Carmen

Catedral Nuestra Señora del Carmen

Puntarenas, Costa Rica

N 09° 58.661 W 084° 50.078

Short Description: 

The Catedral Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel) is located in Parque Central de Puntarenas north of Central Avenue and east of Calle 7 in the center of Puntarenas.

Long Description:

In 1901, a new church was commissioned in Puntarenas to replace a previous structure that was destroyed by fire. The resulting neo-Gothic church, Nuestra Señora del Carmen (Our Lady of Mount Carmel) is constructed of brown stone held together by white mortar. The west facing entrance is a three story structure containing a pyramidal roof topped with a small white cross. Below is a clock tower with containing clocks on all four sides. Below the clock is a single arched window. On the second level are a pair of arched windows. The entrance is flanked with a pair wings each containing a single window on the west side.

In 1998, Puntarenas became a diocese in the archdiocese of San José de Costa Rica and the church became a cathedral. The first bishop was Hugo Barrantes Ureña who was appointed on April 17, 1998. The current residing bishop is Oscar Gerardo Fernández Guillén who was appointed on June 4, 2003.

The stamp was issued by Costa Rica in 2008 as part of a sheet of six stamps depicting churches of Costa Rica.