Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia (Apizaco)

The Basílica de Nuestra Señora de la Misericordia (Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy) is Apizaco's main church, standing on Avenida Cuauhtémoc opposite the park of the same name, at the corner of Boulevard 16 de Septiembre. Unlike the lime-plastered colonial churches found all over Tlaxcala, it is a 20th-century building of carved grey stone in neo-Gothic style, the only religious building in the state with this kind of architecture.

Parish priest Adolfo Sebastián began the project and Father Marcial Aguilar González carried it on. The plans were drawn by engineers Miguel Pardo and Rodolfo Zenteno, and Zenteno saw the work finished in December 1961, after several decades of building. Only two years later, on 5 December 1963, Pope Paul VI signed the apostolic letter Pientissimae Matris, granting the church the title of minor basilica at the request of the Bishop of Tlaxcala, Luis Munive Escobar; apostolic delegate Luigi Raimondi carried out the decree on 12 May 1964, the Virgin's feast day.

The church has three naves in the manner of Gothic cathedrals. The central nave is 43.20 m long, 10.70 m wide and 19 m high; each side nave is 50.85 m long and 10.50 m high. The dome rises 35.5 m from the floor to the lantern, and the two spired towers reach 50 m, making it the tallest religious building in Tlaxcala. Inside are columns of Tepeaca marble, a 12.50 m baldachin and a high altar of Carrara marble, with large windows lighting the naves. Its outline has been compared with the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona and with São Paulo cathedral.

The feast of Our Lady of Mercy is on 12 May, celebrated with masses and a bullfight, fitting for a city that has the largest bullring in the state.