Parish Church of Our Lady of Sorrows–Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico

In a recent post I showed black and white pictures of intricate carvings in the Parish Church of Our Lady of Sorrows church in Dolores Hidalgo, Mexico. I’m following that up with pictures in color of the exterior and interior of the church.

The full name of Dolores Hidalgo is Dolores Hidalgo Cuna de la Independencia Nacional (English: Dolores Hidalgo Cradle of National Independence). The church is where local priest Miguel Hidalgo uttered the “Cry of Dolores” at the 18th-century Dolores Parish Church, rallying people to rise up and igniting Mexico’s successful revolution for independence against Spain in the early 1800s.

The Beginning

“The building of the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows began on February 2, 1712 by order of the parish priest Alvaro de Osio y Ocampo and completed in the year 1778. This temple is considered one of the best examples of New Spain Baroque in the last third of the eighteenth century. Notable is the shell that tops the entrance arch and the three pairs of pedestals on the sides of the door, especially the end, which incorporate niches and sculptures in its body.

The façade, in the Churrigueresque Baroque style, was finished in 1778 and contains a sculptural group depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus. In the atrium is a large clock that shows the start of the countdown to the Bicentennial of the 260 trails in the form of an eagle’s head carved in pink stone erected by the Ministry of Public Education to mark the route that Don Miguel Hidalgo made to Chihuahua. In 1803, Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was made the curate of the parish and in the same portico, proclaimed the Grito de Independencia (Cry of Independence) on Sunday morning September 16, 1810.” Travel by Mexico

The city and the church are ‘must sees’ on your travels to Mexico.