Catedral de Coatzacoalcos

The Cathedral of St Joseph is the mother church of the Diocese of Coatzacoalcos and stands in the city centre on Avenida Ignacio Zaragoza. The land for the first San José church was donated in 1900 by the lawyer José Domínguez, at the corner of 5 de Mayo (now Carranza) and Zaragoza. On 31 July 1926 the federal government closed the church and Masses moved into parishioners' homes; that same day Father Francisco Gutiérrez, known as Padre Panchito, was named parish priest and was expelled at once. He came back in February 1935 and stayed until his death in 1964; his remains rest in the church.

On 14 March 1984 John Paul II created the Diocese of Coatzacoalcos from territory of San Andrés Tuxtla, and the San José parish became its cathedral. Over the years the building grew too small for the congregation, and Bishop Carlos Talavera Ramírez set a new cathedral in motion. Demolition of the old church began in May 2009; the parish priest said the towers and north facade would be left standing and that the permits were in order. Some residents mourned the loss and asked for the demolition to be stopped.

The present front looks nothing like a colonial church: a triangular face with a large coloured stained-glass window and a bell tower beside the entrance. St Joseph, patron of the diocese since 1994, is celebrated on 19 March. The diocese covers about 10,500 km² and 12 municipalities of southern Veracruz.