MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Our Lady of Angels Church has survived several major earthquakes. But Tuesday’s magnitude 7.1 shake appeared to be the death knell for the Mexico City church’s historic cupola.
Violent cracks crisscross the dome, and stone from the roof continues to fall onto the church’s wooden pews. Engineers believe the cupola probably will at some point collapse.
The Archdiocese of Mexico says more than 150 churches in this deeply Catholic country were damaged during the deadly quake. Many of the battered buildings are in the state of Puebla, where the epicenter was located.
On the first Sunday after the earthquake, priests no longer able to say Mass inside collapsing churches instead held services outside.
Priest Colin Noguez told parishioners that their religion is “more than a building.”
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