Gateway to Heaven, house of God
On the distant eastern border between Yucatan and Quintana Roo, 220 km from Merida, stands the austere parish church of Xcán. Despite the sobriety of its architectonic decor, it has certain distinctive features that give it a particular identity and significance.
The church was built in the second half of the 18th century, and dedicated to the Holy Christ of Love. It is thought that a simple shrine existed 200 years earlier, when the village formed part of the Chan Cenote encomienda.
When the priest Diego Antonio de Lorra arrived in the remote community, he set about constructing a “stone and mortar” house of worship. De Lorra had been educated in the Jesuit College in Merida, and came from the rich city parish of El Jesus, but from 1747 he began cementing his reputation as a builder-priest, according to Victor Hugo Medina Suarez in his book The consolidation of the secular clergy in the 18th century diocese of Yucatan.
The same source, in a chapter titled Rotation of priests in the diocese of Yucatan, states that de Lorra’s aspirations came to fruition ten years later, when construction finished in 1757.
The sober façade is flanked by two small towers, each with a geometric cupola, and a bell-cote with four spaces for bells on two levels, topped by a small stone cross.
A more conspicuous detail added to the façade by Father de Lorra are the arms of Spain, with a pair of lions rampant and the two-headed eagle of the Habsburg family. Below, there is another, unidentified coat-of-arms carved in relief, and the probable date when the construction was completed,a long with the legend: Haec est domus dei et porta coeli (This is the house of God and the gateway to Heaven).
An interesting fact is that Father de Lorra is also credited with construction of the Church of St. Christopher in Merida, beginning in 1756, which bears the same Latin inscription as at Xcan.
Around the main entrance to the church, and also at the top of the façade, near the bell-cote, there are frescoes painted in red, which contrasts with the color of the rest of the building.
Like other churches in villages near the border with what is now the State of Quintana Roo, Xcán was the scene of fierce fighting during the Caste War. In 2011, the building, which was suffering severe structural problems, was restored by the Directorate for Preservation of Architectural Cultural Heritage.
Xcán is a Mayan name which means “Place of the snake”. The Mayan scholar Miguel Güémez Pineda states that the etymology is most probably from kaan, a snake, with the feminine prefix x-.
The exterior of the parish church can be enjoyed at any time, but viewing the interior attractions depends on the times of religious services.
Location