The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven is the largest cathedral in the Americas, and seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico.
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It is situated atop the former Aztec sacred precinct near the Templo Mayor on the northern side of the Plaza de la Constitución in Downtown Mexico City. . |
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| The cathedral has four façades which contain portals flanked with columns and statues. The two bell towers contain a total of 25 bells. |  |
| The cathedral was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the original church that was constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan, eventually replacing it entirely |  |
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| Over the centuries, the cathedral has suffered damage. A fire in 1967 destroyed a significant part of the cathedral's interior. The restoration work that followed uncovered a number of important documents and artwork that had previously been hidden. Although a solid foundation was built for the cathedral, the soft clay soil it is built on has been a threat to its structural integrity. |  |
| Dropping water tables and accelerated sinking caused the structure to be added to the World Monuments Fund list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites. Reconstruction work beginning in the 1990s stabilized the cathedral and it was removed from the endangered list in 2000. |  |
| The cathedral is home to two of the largest 18th-century organs in the Americas. |  |