Location: Occidental district, central canton, Cartago

Abandoned childhood and Orphan Hospice

From the XIX century, there was a town, a Charity Board worried for the poverty lived by some social areas. The difficulties faced by many abandoned kids or with serious family problems, which took the priest Joaquín Alvarado Ruiz and his sister Joaquina fought for the wealth and security of those children. Their interest focused on the construction of an orphan hospice. The date in which the priest and his sister donated for the construction of the Orphan Hospice is confusing, but according to the Exelcior, the hospital was born on April 3, 1880 thanks to the Alvarado’s brother donation. They passed one of their properties to Cartago’s municipality. To achieve the construction several donations were made. When the priest dies in May of 1890, the Orphan Hospice construction was already advanced; they got delayed and even got paralyzed completely. But still, the idea of completing such an important and “public” good did not fail to succeed, people from Cartago kept going. They gave 26200 colons to the Orphan Hospice to sell empty lands from the Municipality, 15 colons each hectare of a big property given by law on July 18, 1875. The neighbors help materialized thru activities to collect money to continue the construction, so they organized public collects, fairs, and some cultural evenings and events.

The most significant contribution thanks to the construction was made in 1902 through the legacy of Mrs. Telia Sancho Jiménez, daughter of Dolores Jiménez (sister of Mr. Jesús Jiménez Zamora). This lady invested her fortune in the hospice’s construction, at the same time he put in charge of his funds to his nephew Francisco Jiménez Oreamuno. He changed the original plan of the Hospice and thanks to his enthusiasm he achieved to finish the work.

María Auxiliadora Chapel History

The Hospice got María Auxiliadora Virgin vocation because she is the pattern of the Silesian congregation; Mrs. Sancho always had in mind the hospice to be taken by that religious order. Priest Francisco Mayorga made the blessing ceremony in 1903. On January 6, 1904 made a welcome ceremony for the Orphan Hospice. It had an total investment of 95000 colons.

According to José Misieri chronicles, Central America Silesian inspector (1906), the building takes a complete block, well constructed, a space for 300 young people, wide classrooms and well aired, dorm rooms, a dining room and a study, the façade of the structure is an artistic chapel, despite not being finished a virgin was at the biggest altar.

The building allowed many children with no parents or with serious health, feeding, or education problems to live in. In their hallways, children were attended and in the workshops they were taught a job.

The chapel gave religious services to the people in the neighborhood and it also help the public services to advance in that are of the town.

The first chapel for Cartago’s Orphan Hospice was built between 1888 and 1903, although some details were still missing. In the original way it was constructed with bricks of mud and finished with lime, sand, and cement. The ceiling’s structure was made of wood and it had mud roofing tiles according to that time characteristics. The main façade with bricks, showed the architectural influence of Neogotism. This influence came from Europe at the last quarter of the XIX century and it was used in Central America in the 80’s decade, more like decoration than just architecture that takes the formal and construction principles of gothic. A gothic touch was added to an structure to give a sense of romanticism and exotic.

In the case of María Auxiliadora chapel, we can talk about a little interpretation of the architectural movement of Neogotism, because the influence of that current expressed harder in the building facade and in the interior decoration.

The Silesian and COVAO’s chapel
In our country, since a very long time ago, it was well known the labor done for the orphans by the Silesian priests all around the world. When Cartago’s Orphan Hospice was created, they thought about the Silesians to control it, and it became a reality thanks to the Hospice’s Administrative Board. The first Silesian priests arrived to Puntarenas’ port in July of 1907, where then they moved to San José and later to Cartago. They were leaded by provincial priest José misieri, Antoni Russo (first principal), Francisco Martelli, Esteban Tossini, and Francisco Stanga. They had for companions some former students at Santa Cecilia High School who will work as teachers: mechanic, shoe making, tailor, and blacksmith.

At the beginning of 1909 priest Misieri came back to Cartago and all of his efforts were directed to finish the chapel dedicated to the Virgin María Auxiliadora. With no delays he continued the works, which were suspended since two years before. On December 8 of that year, it was completed. The only thing missing was the mayor altar, but it was already requested, and it arrived from Genova at the beginning of January of 1910. It was a master piece, because of the marble as well as the artistic beauty.

The land in 1910 and the hermitage
The history of earthquakes that have attacked Cartago has been periodic. During the XIX century, at least two strong movements affected the buildings and made lots of human losses.

The chapel of the old Orphan Hospice also received lots of damage in its structure. The façade made of bricks was affected with cracks and the main bell tower fell apart. The pictures taken in the chapel after the earthquake showed a crack of some centimeters along the façade and a height of two meters approximately. The molds and some of the inferior windows fell, showing the fractured brick. The main tower made also with bricks, fell down, just as the top of the small towers surrounding the bell tower. Near the altar part of the ceiling fell as well as the side walls.

The central part of the church resisted the earthquake with no sinking and none of the people there received considerable damage. After the earthquake, the hospice and the church were abandoned and on people’s hands that rob it, taking machinery, tools, beds, and as many other things as they could.

In the hospice and María Auxiliadora church the workers removed the rests and thanks to the authorities intervention many things were recovered.

Regarding the work to reconstruct the temple, some mud roof tiles were removed and it was substituted by iron tiles and instead of the brick walls, iron structures were put, and the front and sides were covered with woods, the provisional part of the altar was of iron and wood. The ruined church, provisionally covered was opened again. In the consequent years the reconstruction continued slowly. At the same time the construction of three more churches were done in Cartago, so the reconstruction got even harder.

Priest Salvador Bottari continued the reconstruction, using the resources he got to buy wood, iron, and other materials necessary. It was priest Pío Baldiserotto’s turn, Silesian High School Director turn to finish the main façade. The interior painting and the reconstruction of the axes of the temple were done by priest Domingo Soldati who worked for many years as the Silesian High School Director.

The decoration of the temple is a result of the artist Alesandro del Vecchio, ecclesiastic painter and decorator, ex Director of the Mexican Arts Academy.

Architectural Description

Main façade
It has, as the rest of the structure, a concrete socle approximately with 1.20 of height and on this one a wood structure covered with flat iron sleets. The three body pilasters, two side ships do not have an access door. The main door has double axe door crowned with an arch with colored glasses. Both sides of the area, there is a window with rectangular shape above the main door. Over the main body of the façade, there is a bell tower with needle towers. It also has in all the walls or faces a triple window with pointed endings.

In the wall there is a marble plate with the next inscription: in the centennial year of Juan Bosco’s death, Cartago thanks the Silesians (STB) his hard work for youth people. Cartago, August 1988.

Side Facades:
The east and west façade present the structure of its wall covered by a metallic cap. Its architectonic rhythm is formed by door. All of these elements are pointed with arch decorations and it has wood decorations. The windows are pointed; it has two windows and a door crowned by an arch with towers. Through time, the church has been painted with different colors, as the first hand it had color red, later on it change to light blue. From that moment on, they put oil paints: aqua, yellow, gray, and it is now with green and gray.

Inner space:
Its biggest view and beauty is found in the inside, where pointed arcs with delicate wood work, the church’s floor made of geometrical mosaic in white, gray, dark brown, and yellow.

Nine pairs of columns hold the vaults and the structure. Each column is formed by four cylindrical woods, as a complex column. These columns are made of a stone base in an octagonal shape. The central ship has air and lightning. It has a series of arcs in a column rhythm with decoration elements. Each arc has delicate wood work. The ceiling is made of wood. The figures on the arcs of the side ships are repeated just as in the main vault, and it also has a wood work with styled flowers. The design or language of the windows at the inside of the building is austere.

The lights are given by a series of lamps shaped by white balloons, hung with golden chains. The mayor altar is framed by an arc with a representation of the Holy Trinity; there is also an image of the Virgin. The original one brought from Geneva, Italy was destroyed by the earthquake, but priest Clodoveo Castelli picked up the marble pieces and created another altar, the one it has nowadays. On the sides of the altar, there are some images of Saint Luis Gonzaga and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The altar is surrounded by wood altars that keep the neogothic view, there we can find the images of Juan Bosco to the west and Nazareno; and to the east the Baby Jesus of Prague. In the posterior part, a little space was constructed to put the liturgical ornaments and the mass books.

The floor is made with mosaic with geometrical shapes. As an interesting architectonical design the temple has space saved for the chore, it can be accessed thru a snail staircase.

Due to its history and symbolism, María Auxiliadora’s church represents an urban landmark and an urban and scape for Cartago citizens...

Location: Occidental district, central canton, Cartago
Cartago, 1st and 2nd Avenue, 13th and 15th street