Huelva Cathedral

The Cathedral of Our Lady of Mercy is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Huelva, Andalusia, Spain. It is the seat of the Roman [Catholic Diocese of Huelva] since 1954.

History

The convent church from the 17th century was destroyed by several earthquakes in the 18th century. A church rebuilt in 1775 in Neoclassical style. It served as the chapel of the adjacent former Convent of Our Lady of Mercy, occupied by the Order of the [Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy|Mercedarian Order] until it was abolished during the ecclesiastical confiscations of Mendizábal of 1835. The former convent is now one of the buildings of the University of Huelva.
The two bell-gables were added to the façade in 1915 to accommodate the new bells.
It was elevated to the status of a cathedral on 15 March 1954, a year after the Diocese of Huelva was created as a division of the Archdiocese of Seville.
The church was declared a National Monument on 12 March 1970,
On 28 February 1969 a new earthquake damaged the building considerably, having it closed down for renovations between 1970 and 1977. Restoration works were headed by architect Rafael Manzano Martos.