A masterpiece of religious art
Dr. Martín Tritschler y Córdova was responsible for pastoral care in the Archdiocese of Yucatan for 42 years, from 1900 to 1942, going down in history as the first archbishop.
The early years of his tenure as bishop coincided with the economic boom in the state fueled by the cultivation and export of sisal fiber, and are characterized by a marked interest in undertaking projects for the embellishment and physical improvement of almost all the churches in the diocese, as well as the construction of new churches.
Merida Cathedral was obviously a major priority for him, and during the first decade of the 20th century the ancient church was embellished with floors and a balustrade of Italian marble, a monumental organ from Germany, and new seating for the canons’ choir, made from local precious woods by the Yucatecan woodcarver Donato Pech Cambranes.
Yucatan’s economic prosperity was also reflected in sacred art, and one example was the acquisition of a gold chalice for the Cathedral. Its artistic merit and the quality of the materials meant it was at the time considered “a true jewel of religious art”, and one of the most valuable pieces in the Cathedral treasury.
A detailed description of the chalice was published in number 13 of the Eccelsiastical Bulletin of the Bishopric of Yucatan, and it was first used during the solemn mass celebrated by Msgr. Tritschler on Christmas Day 1905, as recorded in the Merida Review (predecessor to the Diario de Yucatán).
This jewel of sacred art, with its matching paten and spoon, was made to order by a Parisian goldsmith from the House of Poussielgue in the French capital, and according to newspaper reports, cost 10,000 pesos.
The chalice is Gothic-Byzantine in style, and its design includes various decorative elements that are highly significant to the history of the church and of the Archdiocese of Yucatan, such as the eight enameled medallions depicting the Crucified Christ, Our Lady pf Guadalupe, St. Rose of Lima, St. Ildefonso of Toledo, St Philip of Jesus and the crests of Pope Pius X, Bishop Tritschler and the city of Merida. A statuette of St. Barnabas, patron of the Yucatecan capital, stands against a column that serves as the stem of the chalice that supports the cup.
The paten, the small plate on which the host is placed during the mass, is also gold, and is decorated with enamelwork depicting the Risen Christ with his disciples on the road to Emmaus. Both the chalice and the paten are richly adorned with precious stones such as diamonds, emeralds, sapphires and rubies.
The chalice forms part of the liturgical heritage of Merida Cathedral, and is of great historical value, not only because of its artistic merit and the richness of the materials from which it is fashioned, but also because for more than a century it has been used during some of the most significant religious ceremonies within the church of Yucatan.
Pope John Paul II used it during the private mass which he celebrated on the morning of the 12th August 1993 in the chapel of the Conciliar Seminary in Itzimná, during the Polish pontiff’s historic visit to Yucatan.
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