A recent visit to a 17th century Church in Colombia has inspired a Sydney mother and her daughters to help save its sacred baroque art.
Colombian born Adriana Zuniga is a member of St Bridget’s parish in Coogee. In July, she and her two daughters, Luciana (15) and Marianna (17) flew back to Colombia to visit family.
A friend in a prayer group suggested they take a look at La Candelaria Church in the city centre of Bogota.
“It happened to be the church that my father used to attend, many years ago,” Adriana said.
“Unfortunately, it hasn’t been looked after for many years. It was renovated in the 1980s following a very big earthquake, but after that it has been neglected; the roof leaks and the magnificent artwork on the ceiling is being destroyed by rain.
“My daughters wanted to create a campaign to help save it for future generations, and so they are leading the way, along with La Candelaria’s Father Juan Francisco Tinjaca.”
The church dates back to 1686 and its magnificent baroque ceiling continues to inspire locals, as well as visitors from around the world.
The funds collected will be used to finish the restoration work, fix water leaks, roof damage, and cracks and fissures in the dome that are putting the valuable artworks at risk.
Adriana says one of the main paintings depicts the Holy Trinity holding the world.
“It’s one of the most amazing artworks I’ve ever seen; absolutely breath-taking. As soon as you walk into the church, you’re in tears. It’s a very special spiritual experience,” she said.
“We are hoping to raise just $2,000 to finish the part of the roof above the art, and we are already up to more than $400. Everyone at St Bridget’s here in Sydney is getting behind the campaign making donations. We want to reach out to anyone who cares about history and preserving beautiful art.”
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