Restored Angels and Stained Glass Return to El Cobre Sanctuary

Devuelven la belleza al Santuario del Cobre. Foto: Tomada de Sol de Cuba
The Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba reported, according to the publication Sol de Cuba, that the marble sculptures located at the rear entrance were reinstalled following work led by sculptor José Duverger Aliaga, a graduate of the San Alejandro National Academy of Fine Arts, with the support of specialists from the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana. One of the pieces suffered severe damage during the cyclone, with fragments detached from the wings, hands, head, and body. For that reason, it was transferred to Havana, where its reconstruction was carried out. "The angel arrived in pieces; only the base was preserved," recalled Duverger, who took on the challenge of reassembling a work of approximately 500 kilograms and restoring its integrity.
In parallel, the Taller School team worked on the recovery of the affected stained glass. Some glass panels, up to two meters high, were reconstructed "by images," with the aim of maintaining the visual homogeneity of the chapel through tones similar to the originals. The return of the angels and the installation of the restored stained glass are part of a broader recovery process for the Sanctuary, which also suffered damage to roofs, doors, windows, and other heritage elements.
The Basilica of Our Lady of Charity of El Cobre, Patroness of Cuba, once again displays the light that for centuries has accompanied the devotees who arrive from different points of the island and the world. The Sanctuary of El Cobre, declared a National Monument in 2012, thus reaffirms its status as a sacred space and symbol of the cultural and religious identity of the Cuban people.
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