Exploring the Architecture and History of Cathedral of San Fernando and San Fernando Cemetery

This article explores the history and architecture of Cathedral of San Fernando and San Fernando Cemetery, a living testimonial of the glory of Christianity in San Antonio, Texas. It discusses the impact of religion on the social, legal, personal and religious life of individuals and how the cathedral serves as a point of connection between life and afterlife as described in Christianity.

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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................3
Place of Worship...........................................................................................................................3
A note on the Architecture of the place.........................................................................................4
Let’s see it as a part of Parish ( Rituals and Offerings)......................................................................4
The first step inside the first ever Parish in the San Antonio and Texas........................................6
Impacts on ornamentation..............................................................................................................8
Comparison of the site with its past glory....................................................................................13
The burial place...............................................................................................................................15
Conclusion...........................................................................................................................................16
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My trip to “Cathedral of San Fernando”
Introduction
Most of the dictionaries across the world define religion as a way of life. When we check the
history of certain religions we find that five centuries ago religions were holding the
paramount status in the life of a person. During this era, religious books were considered to
be the fountainhead of scientific and philosophical knowledge. They were also having a
bearing on the legal systems of that area. In general, we can say that the verses and sermons
written in the religious books were serving as the guidelines of life for the individuals. The
customs and the rituals of these books were serving as the code of social science. The stories
of the Bible and other anecdotes were serving as the source of inspiration behind the concept
of humanity. Religion at that point of time was the currency of intellectualism. Scholars were
trying to answer the complexities of life with the help of religious books. As the bottom line,
we can say that it was the era of religion.
Reading makes a man exact; recently I read many things about the concept of mortality and
immortality in the religion corresponding to the era that I mentioned in the previous
paragraph. My stint in the field of academics also introduced me to the influence of the
philosophy of the religion over the imagery and architectures of the places where we offer
prayers and the places of the burial. This wisdom taught me many things about the interaction
between the architecture, popular culture and subculture of different areas.
Place of Worship
Recently I visited the historical church of San Fernando in the San Antonio Texas. This
church is close to my present place of living. While passing through the adjacent area, this
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church always caught my attention because of the “old world charm” associated with it,
however, until a few days ago I never realized that the legacy of this church is hidden in its
architecture and the same architecture bears the crux of Christianity in every wall, every
painting, and every artifice. Followed by this visit I also visited San Fernando Cemetery.
Both these places hold a special place in the local history along with the history of
Christianity. They are the places where individuals are practicing the rituals of Christianity
actively.
A note on the Architecture of the place
While planning my visit to both these places, I was intending to create a virtual trip for the
readers. However, the powerful architecture of these places captivated me, my new found
wisdom about the concepts of mortality and immortality in the religions forced me to read,
interpret and decipher the deeper meanings that were embedded in the walls, painting and the
architecture. I went there to prepare a document that can be considered as a virtual trip;
however, I ended up with a “life-changing experience.” In the current assignment, I am
sharing the notes of this experience. In order to streamline my memories in the form of a
meaningful presentation, I developed a hypothesis that goes asunder.
The rituals, art and the architecture of San Fernando Cathedral and San Fernando Cemetery is
a living testimonial of the history of Christianity in the local area. It depicts all the local
influences of the history and the preservation of the concept of mortality and immortality as it
was described in Christianity.
Let’s see it as a part of Parish ( Rituals and Offerings)
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Image 1: A rare picture of San Fernando Cathedral in the 18th century. It was an epicenter of
the social activities, collected from the library of the church.
Christianity has a history of developing civilizations around the places of worship. This
photograph covering the San Fernando church from a low angle lens view shows us the
opulence of this structure. Just imagine, almost two hundred and fifty years ago this church
was among the high rises of the city. It was a landmark and major destination for the buggy
owners of that area.
I collected this poster when I took the necessary permissions related to the principal
photography of the place. Apart from it, I also understood a few things related to the conduct
of a visitor to maintain the sanctity of the place. The library of this Cathedral also depicted
many more pictures related to the inception of this church. Soon I realized that I am standing
in the courtyard of the oldest church in Texas. The grandeur of this gothic architecture started
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captivating me. However, it was not the right time for that because the God lies in the detail
and every wall of this cathedral is plastered with visuals and commentaries that depicts the
evolution of new Christian faith corresponding to the modern era.
The first step inside the first ever Parish in the San Antonio and Texas
San Fernando Cathedral was the epicenter of a Parish. The conventional etymology
associated with Christianity describes Parish as an administrative district looking after the
affairs of the Roman Catholic churches belonging to the adjoining areas. With the passage of
time, the meaning of this word parish remained confined to special prayers and contemporary
rituals.
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Image 2: The aerial view of Cathedral of the San Fernando in the 18th century, retrieved from
the library of the cathedral.
The details of the image 2 show us the prominence of San Fernando Cathedral in the 18th
century, it shows that it is the tallest building in the area, rest of the building are meant for
administrative businesses, however, the epicenter of all the structure in San Fernando
Cathedral. This placement of the Cathedral connects us to the glorious days of Christianity
when “life after the death” was equally important and the concepts like Utilitarianism were
equivalent to cardinal sins. The positioning of this church also gives us an idea that during
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Christianity is a way of life where they keep an eye on the “life after death” during life itself.
The presence of a Parish church also gives us an idea about the fact that life after death was
an important issue in that society and individuals were looking up to churches with an
intention to keep their books right. The societies of that era were keen on changing social
traditions in favor of salvation. Here I also discovered the fact that it is the only Parish church
in the region which is functional and holds certain powers.
The previous history and the architecture of San Fernando gives us an idea that the churches
were the meeting place of mortality and immortality. The churches were deciding the conduct
of a person during his or her mortal days so that he can enjoy a better life during his immortal
existence inside a grave. Churches were placing life as an opportunity to earn the wages of
good deeds that can help a soul in attaining the salvation on the doom’s day. The concept of
salvation and life after death still exists, however, the towering architecture of the cathedrals
like San Fernando gives us an idea that churches were playing an active role in the life and
times of the people and dictating social conduct. They were also enjoying unparalleled power
over the lawmakers and administrators.
In order to add a few more substantive pointers in the favor of my hypothesis, I discovered a
series of effigies that are an important part of this cathedral and bear a stamp of local history
and preferences over them.
Impacts on ornamentation
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Image 3: Depiction of the Virgin of Candelaria as the Black Madonna.
The statue of the Virgin of Candelaria represent the canary of fifteen families that founded
this church, however, the impact of Christianity over the masses is very strong, the same
thing was applicable on the leaders of the society. The next few notable effigies belong to the
kings and local lords. Name San Fernando belongs to a Spanish King.
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Image 3: The portrait of the San Fernando placed in the Cathedral, Retrieved from the library
of the cathedral of San Fernando.
The picture above shows the devotion of a mighty king towards the Almighty, in the
backdrop of the painting we can see the crown of the king placed like an insignificant object
of no use. The presence of the guardian angels also gives us an indication about the life after
the death and the intervention of the heavenly world in the life of ordinary people. This
painting also establishes the fact that the teachings of Christianity were intact and individuals
were having a firm belief in them.
Image 4: The ornamental depiction of Jesus in the main hall of the Cathedral.
Roman culture and gothic architecture always glorified the tales of Christianity in a larger
than life perspective; the depiction of Jesus in this cathedral also confirms the same trend.
The depiction of Jesus under the ornamentation and colors signifies the concept of “best of
both the worlds.” Here I realized that places like “Cathedral of Fernando” are doing this
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religious duty of translating the ancient teachings of religion for the modern world by
connecting them to present day imagery.
Image 5: The remains of the Alamo Heroes in the San Fernando Cathedral
In a separate section of this cathedral, we can see the remains of the Alamo heroes. This place
signifies the celebration of life in both the existences. Churches in the past were important
because they were connecting human beings with the divinity. The sermon of the Bible also
tells us that our heroic deeds and the deeds in favor of humanity also connect us with divinity.
The concept of the creation of opulent resting places also tells us about a bridge between
divinity and humanity were the resting place of individual works as a bridge. The graves of
Alamo heroes inspire us to leave the footprints of our lively existence in the form of good
deeds.
Comparison of the site with its past glory
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At this juncture of the journey, I decided to check the resting place of ordinary people which
is situated near this grand cathedral which is celebrating the spirit of life and afterlife with the
help of grandeurs architecture. Prior to leaving this place for my next destination, I clicked an
aerial photograph of this grand structure in its present condition.
Image 6: The present picture of Cathedral
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The comparison of image 2 and Image 6 allows us to draw a philosophical parallel of the
thought process. According to this thought process, at the turn of the 17th-century religion
was the force behind administration and law. It was an expression for the masses where
certain authorities were playing the role of a regulator. Image 2 tells us that the cathedral was
representing the towering height of the social status. However, now when the human
population is living in a postmodern era, religion has become a personal statement. Now
individuals are exploring the religion to win the internal battles that are bothering him. Image
6 presents a representation of this internal quest of a human being.
The burial place
After capturing this image I visited San Fernando Cemetery. Christianity celebrates death as a
part of life, however, the peace and the calm at this cemetery reminded me of the proverbial
phrase of “resting in peace.” The effigies and nameplates on the graves gave me an idea
about the change in the iconography of the area. However, the sighs of the cross on the new
graves were relatively smaller and the same thing can be said about nameplates on the graves.
I tried to inquire about the history of the crematory. Most of the individuals were not aware of
a timeline based history of this cemetery. I tried to complete the story with the help of the
stones that were planted on the graves, however, I failed in identifying any sequence that can
be mentioned here.
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Here I also discovered the fact that finding a grave in this cemetery is becoming difficult
because of the scarcity of the space and a natural increase in the population. However, since I
was searching for the presence of the symbols of Christianity and other insignia, I realized
that most of the graves were bearing the stamp of the cross on their heads. This is a ritual
which is intact from the last two centuries. Rest of the other things witnessed a change in
accordance with the changing times.
Conclusion
My experience with these two places of historical importance for Christianity gave me the
idea that the hypothesis made by me was right. The Cathedral of San Fernando in San
Antonio, Texas is a living testimonial of the glory of Christianity when it was acting as a
threshold of the system in the social, legal, personal and religious life of the individuals. It
also gave me this idea that in the past religion was the governing force of life. In the present
context, it has become a way of life for most of us and we always have this choice change
some flanks if we want. The cathedral of San Fernando is a powerful piece of architecture
that can be interpreted in various eras of history. In the postmodern world, for the society of
San Antonio, this place is serving as the point of connection between “life and afterlife” as it
is described in Christianity.
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