The Divine Magnetism of Cuba’s Church of the Holy Trinity
Certain places are so powerfully magnetic that you never want to leave them. Most of us do eventually leave in the end, of course. But, what if you succumbed one time. What if you stayed? Or, what if a higher power didn’t allow to go home? It is the divine implications surrounding that last question that makes Cuba’s Church of the Holy Trinity one of the Caribbean’s most miraculously uncommon attractions.
The Church of the Holy Trinity Tidbits
As its official name – la Iglesia Parroquial de la Santisima Trinidad – implies, the Church of the Holy Trinity is located in Trinidad, Cuba. The structure anchors the town’s famed Plaza Mayor.
A weathered yet strikingly beautiful representation of neoclassical architecture, it wasn’t always so stately and grand.
The Church of the Holy Trinity as it exists today was constructed between 1817 and 1892. The hallowed history of the ground upon which it stands, though, actually extends back to the 17th century. A hurricane destroyed the earlier church. The current one, though, continues to stand the test of time.
It also accommodates a ton of worshipers. Somewhat surprisingly, The Church of the Holy Trinity holds the title as Cuba’s largest church.
Devine Interior Decorating?
As for the magnetic quality of the place, it all revolves around an 18th century statue of Christ known as The Lord of the True Cross. You can find it in the last place it was originally intended to reside: inside the Church of the Holy Trinity.
The original plan was to ship the statue to another church in Veracruz, Mexico. Three attempts were made to do just that. Each one, though, ended in failure. Bad weather repeatedly forced any ships involved in transporting the statue to turn back. Bad weather that somehow always seemed to crop up out of nowhere.
(Cue the eerie organ chords…)
Divine intervention was the only explanation for the failed attempts. Church leaders, compelled as they are to bow to God’s wishes, kept the statue at Holy Trinity.
There must be something awfully special about that statue. Certainly something special enough to make me want to check it out.
*Lead photo credit: Dan Lundberg via flickr.
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