Description:

Slowly completed between 1869 and 1887, the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi serves as the motherchurch for the entirety of the southwestern region of the United States. It was built in an unusual, but harmonious, combination of three architectural styles, Adobe, French-Romanesque and Modern. Set next to the cathedral, a small chapel holds the oldest Madonna statue in the country; La Conquistadora was imported from Spain in 1625. The basilica sits just east of The Plaza, where attractions like the Palace of the Governors and the New Mexico Museum of Art reside.