Periódico Casco Antiguo News Edición 13 - MAYO 2017 | Page 10

COMUNIDAD PA N A M Á Historical bond: to the rescue of the metropolitan cathedral The Committee of Friends from Churches of Casco Antiguo, seeks to motivate the population to contribute with their little bit of sand to remodel this popular Holy temple of the capital city. T he Republic of Panama possesses an incalculable historical wealth that does not go unnoticed in the eyes of the tourists that arrive to patriotic soil to know its wonderful landscapes and sites of interest in any time of the year, which in many occasions they are por- trayed in some map or Poster at the international level. Places full of history, with architectural designs that highlight its struc- tures can be seen in different points of the interior of the country, such as the church of Natá de los Caballeros, in the province of Coclé; The one of San Francisco of the Mountain, in Veraguas and the one of San Atanasio in the Villa of the Saints, in Azuero. But the Old Quarter of the capital also has religious sites that decorate its streets. Such is the case of the cathedral Basilica Santa Maria de la An- tigua Primada de Tierra Firme, better known as metropolitan cathedral, which has been the site chosen for countless liturgical activities, including state funerals. Today, a group of people, led by entrepreneur Ricardo Gago Salinero, president of the Committee of Friends of the Churches of the Old Town (Caica), have decided to motivate the population to support through the acquisition of the historical bonds to make sure that this basilica has the liturgical implements that allow its functioning as a church, such as ben- ches, bell, altar table and baptismal font, among others. “The historical bond has different prices, there are 5, 25, 50, 100 and even 1000 balboas, and can be purchased in the churches of San Francis- co de Asís, San José, the San Felipe Neri Oratory and the church Of the Merced, located in the Old Town, as well as in the offices of Caica, in the 10 Costa del Este, or ask them to the telephone 271 0044 », emphasizes Gago Salinero. The president of Caica added that “The bonds are numbered and bear the signature of me, as president of that organization, and of the metropo- litan archbishop, Monsignor Jose Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, so that those who have cooperated keep a memory of their participation in this initiati- ve” . The metropolitan cathedral is a Catholic temple that was consecrated in 1796, designated minor basilica on December 22, 2014 and current episco- pal seat of the Archdiocese of Panama. Cascoantiguo_news Casco Antiguo News