Sagrado Corazón, Nueva Santa María

The Church of Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón, the Sacred Heart Church, is the main parish church in Nueva Santa María. The church plays a role similar to that played by the Immaculate Conception church in the sister neighborhood of Clavería. Both are just south of the neighborhood “glorieta” park.

Here, the church is somewhat younger. Begun in 1954, it was intended to replace a smaller chapel that stood on the same site since about 1951. Construction finished by the end of the decade. It’s been a neighborhood landmark ever since. The market, just 5-minutes walk west on Clavelinas, opened in 1963.

The building’s hulking character recalls the Purísima Corazón de María church in colonia Del Valle. That 18-year building project had only finally finished in 1954, when this one began. The interior mollifies. And with good reason.

Seven great arched stained-glass windows can only be appreciated from the inside. One, above the entrance door, is thus above the choir loft on the inside. All are works of Victor Francisco Marco, from the celebrated Estudios Marco in Monterrey. Marco also did the windows for the Guadalupita Chapel in San Rafael, and, later the Santísimo Redentor in colonia Cuauhtémoc. His work at the San José del Altillo Chapel (designed by Kitzia Hofmann) likely draws the highest accolades.

The Church of the Sagrado Corazón is unmissable if you’re in the neighborhood. That’s doubly true if you’re in the Parque Revolución.