The Metropolitan Cathedral of Old Panama: A WALK INTO HISTORY The Metropolitan Cathedral is not only it is the oldest church in Panama but it is one of the largest in Central America . Unfortunately on last two visits to Panama the Cathedral was closed for restoration. The Cathedral was reopened by Pope Francis during World Youth Day 2019. This Cathedral is beautiful example of colonial architecture in a classic Spanish style, the main part in stone flanked by two bell towers, seen in so many Latin America cities. The two towers framing the central facade are painted white and decorated with shells brought from the Las Perlas islands. My niece Andrea and I spent some time inside the Cathedral admiring its beauty, treasures and learning more about its history. On entering the first thing to catch your eye is the beautiful massive altar in marble . Truly a magnificent work of art. The "huge golden candlesticks" at the altar are also quite impressive, so too are the stained glass windows depicting various saints . I was especially drawn to a statue of Jesus with child-like cherub heads clustered about his feet. I learned too that there are graves under the floor that are opened once a year. Among the various religious figures that adorn the Cathedral are a statue of Santa María La Antigua, the patroness of Panama, with a flower in her hand and Baby Jesus in her arms. These are some photos taken during our visit . We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to this, beautiful historic Cathedral.....

This is a beautiful Catholic Basilica dating back hundreds of years, and is considered the most important basilica in all of Panama. The church was finished in 1794. The main altar was restored in 2018. The entire altar is basically comprised of full gold. It's magnificent craftsmanship indeed. Take the time to stroll around and see the different sculptures & artwork. And as always, respect the rules of the grounds. They have a donation box towards the entrance of the church, as well as souvenirs. I would give something, just to go towards building maintenance.

When entered, firstly I was dazzled with the new looks, clean, pleasant, shining checkered marbles but wait a minute… I remember quite clear that on the floor there were XIX tombstones, where are they?! They are all gone! Although it was almost 3 decades, the last time I was there with a friend for a wedding and we joked about that one of them probably was one of her ancestors… on those days the looks of the cathedral interiors were crying for a restoration, I thought after all this time, they should had made a great job restoring it but it changed and looked new built rather than a restoration of a 300+ century old religious structure. Still very beautiful from the outside, Colonial style with the blocks of different colors (they were brought from the remains of fired buildings of the first town founded by the Spaniards in the XVI century located at the other side of the city) and I have to say didn’t suffer the heat just because now all churches are air-conditioned; this comfort at a cost and the hurry to have it ready for the Pope’s visit in 2019. Remodel, renovation but not restoration.