Murcia Cathedral Murcia Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary in Murcia (Spanish: "Iglesia Catedral de Santa María en Murcia"), commonly called the Cathedral of Murcia, is a Catholic church in the city of Murcia, Spain. It is the only cathedral in use in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cartagena in Spain. The Christian king Jaime I the Conqueror conquered the city during the Mudéjar revolt of 1264–66. Despite an existing pact with the Muslims of the city that prevented the destruction of any mosque, Jaime I took the Great Mosque or Aljamía to consecrate it to the Virgin Mary; a custom
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Seville the city were converted into churches, but Santa María la Blanca, Santa Cruz, and San Bartolome were left to the Jews for synagogues. The cathedral originated in the great mosque which was the work of the emirs who built the Aljama mosque, rebuilt in 1171 by the Almohad emir, Yusuf-ben Yacub. The famous tower called the Giralda is due to Almanzor. In order to secure the liturgical orientation, when the mosque was converted into a cathedral its width was made the length of the new church; and it was divided into two parts, the lesser part, on the cast, being