Pantheon
of the Bishops

Since the earliest centuries of the Christian faith, burying ecclesiastical dignitaries within the cathedral precinct responded to a deep theological and hierarchical need. The interment of pastors beneath the very floor they served symbolized the perpetual union with their flock and the uninterrupted continuity of the apostolic mandate.

In New Spain, the location of funerary crypts was not arbitrary: the closer the deceased was to the main altar and the temple's reliquary, the greater his spiritual prestige. Thus, the Catedral de Durango structured beneath its Main Altar an underground pantheon of honor.

“The Pantheon of the Bishops consists of a vault with four funerary alcoves arranged on either side of a central corridor, in whose vaults rest the mortal remains of the Bishops and Archbishops.”