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Mary’s Purest Heart is a Parrish that can hardly go
unnoticed by anyone who’s traveling down Gabriel
Mancera Street. Built entirely in concrete (common
construction material of the 20th Century) its
dimensions aim for the sublime.
No one can ignore its monumental presence, but very
few know its name. A lot of people think that the
great effigy that crowns its cupola is the figure of
Christ instead of the Virgin Mary, even more people
don’t know its name and just call it: “Our Lady of
Transit” as she seems to be contributing, with her
open arms to the flow of traffic that comes from the
División del Norte, Colonia del Valle and Amores
Avenues into the Mariscal Sucre Park.
Few are the churches that, like Mary’s Purest Heart,
summarize the history of a district (La del Valle)
and a nation (Mexico) during the 20th
Century.
In its beginning, it was only a humble chapel with
brick walls and a wooden roof. Small, it’s true, but
overflowing with life. In December 1923, the
archbishop of Mexico, José Mota del Río, blessed the
recently finished chapel, and left the chaplain
Santiago Dot in charge.
The Claretian fathers took charge of the Parrish
from May 1940. Five years later the foundation of
the Sanctuary was laid out. One year later, in 1946,
the crypt was finished. The final part of the
church’s construction was begun in 1947 and finished
in 1953. At the beginning of this year the base of
the cupola, on which the image of the Virgin’s heart
would stand, was built above the arches of the
central vault. The original project was meant to be
higher than the actual building, according to father
Armando Uribe, but the authorities didn’t authorize
this as it would be higher than the Monument to the
Revolution.
Fantastic stained windows and murals representing
various biblical passages can be seen in the
interior of this building; a building of
extraordinary architecture in which styles like Art
Deco, functionalism and a certain gothic touch can
be found. Romeo and Juliet, starring the famous
actor Leonardo di Caprio, and other films have been
filmed in this beautiful place.
This church is located on Gabriel Mancera and Torres
Adalid, to one side of the Mariscal Sucre Park.
The temple is open on Sundays.
This place is located in the Del Valle district.
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