MERCY TOURS
Your Catholic Pilgrimage Resource
A Spiritual and Cultural experience
Mercy Tours Inc. 6504 28th Street S.E. Suite Q Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546
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One of Mexico’s most beautiful colonial cities, Puebla is located approximately 7,000 feet above sea level and is the capital city of the State of Puebla. The entire city has been declared a national heritage site to control development and preserve its Spanish architecture and ambiance. With a population of over 2 million, it combines the old and the new. Puebla is located about 60 miles southeast of Mexico City and has been known by many names over the years: City of Angels, City of Tiles, Heroic City of Zaragoza. Today it is simply known as Puebla.
Established by the Spanish in 1531 on the main route between the port of Veracruz (the most important port in Mexico) and Mexico City, Puebla was the principal city of colonial Mexico. Puebla’s appearance is the most European of all colonial cities, because it was planned from the ground up by a Spanish city designer rather than being built within an existing Indian community.
Puebla’s historic downtown remains a Spanish-colonial treasure filled with elegant 17th and 18th century European architecture and art. Puebla is also well-known for its delicious regional cuisine, especially the world-famous mole poblano sauce. Puebla is also known for its local onyx, Talavera tiles, and pottery, as well as dulce de camote, a sweet-potato candy that comes wrapped in tissue paper.
Puebla’s greatest moment occurred on May 5, 1862, when a makeshift Mexican army under the command of General Ignacio Zaragoza repulsed the first French contingent sent to Mexico by Napoleon III after Mexico stopped paying indemnities to France. The victory itself was not nearly so important as what it symbolized-the halting of French intervention. Today the Cinco de Mayo (5th of May) is a national holiday.
Zocolo (Main Plaza) This large square is flanked on the east by the cathedral and on the other sides by the handsome portals of colonial buildings, shops, and restaurants. Tall trees shade the area, and tropical flowers are laid out around fountains and a bandstand. Many of the park benches and nearby buildings are made of Talavera tile.
Cathedral of Puebla (The Immaculate Conception)
The Cathedral of Puebla, completed in 1649 has the tallest bell towers in Mexico. One of them can be climbed for a view of the city and the nearby volcanoes. The cathedral itself is the second largest in Mexico, after the one in Mexico City. This cathedral was built in the Renaissance and Baroque styles and consecrated in April 1649 by the Bishop of Puebla.
The pillars around the plaza in front of the cathedral are surmounted by angels, symbols of the city.
The Church of St. Dominic
Puebla’s most lavishly decorated church is famous for its extravagant Capilla del Rosario (Rosary Chapel) and the gold leaf-covered carvings and sculptures that adorn every inch of wall, ceiling, and altar space. It was originally part of a monastery belonging to the Dominicans completed in 1611. It is a baroque masterpiece of gold leaf and plaster, dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary. Puebla has many other churches and convents that date from the 17th and 18th centuries but nothing compares to this chapel in both splendor and expressiveness.
Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio
Sebastian’s parents were Spanish peasants. At the age of thirty one he sailed to Mexico, where he began working in the fields. Eventually he built roads to facilitate agricultural trading and other commerce. His 466 mile road from Mexico City to Zacatecas took 10 years to build and required careful negotiations with the indigenous peoples along the way. In time Sebastian was a wealthy farmer and rancher. At the age of 60 he entered a virginal marriage. When his first wife died, he entered another virginal marriage. This wife also died young.
At the age of 72 Sebastian distributed his goods among the poor and entered the Franciscans as a brother. Assigned to the large (100 member) friary at Puebla de Los Angelos south of Mexico City, Sebastian went out collecting alms for the friars for the next 25 years. His charity to all earned him the nickname “Angel of Mexico”.
Sebastian was beatified in 1787 and is known as a patron of travelers. His incorrupt body is in the Church of San Francisco in Puebla.
Jesuit Church (La Compania)
Two blocks east of the main square and right across from Hotel Colonial, stands the Jesuit Church, La Compania, opened in 1767, which has a Churrigueresque façade and a blue and white tile cupola.
St Michael of the Miracle- Tlaxcala
St. Michael the Archangel first appeared to Diego Lazaro on April 25, 1631, in Tlaxcala, Mexico, where he told Diego about a spring of “miraculous water”. The second apparition occurred on May 8, when St. Michael took Diego to a ravine between two hills and said:
“Here, where I touch my staff is a fountain...This light which you have seen descend from heaven is a blessing which God is giving to this spring for the health and healing of all infirmities and necessities. Make it known to all.”
