Amazing 400-year-old church re-emerges from Mexican reservoir

The last time it was visible was in 2002

The 400-year-old Temple of Santiago, also called the Temple of Quechula, has reemerged from Mexico's Nezahualcoyotl reservoir.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The colonial-era church became visible following a drought
that decreased the water level of the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir by 82 feet.

The church was originally flooded in 1966, despite its 30-foot walls. The bell tower is 48 feet above the ground of the church and the entire structure stands at 183-feet-long and 42-feet-wide.

The Temple of Quechula was built by monks led by Friar Bartolome de la Casas, who arrived in the mid-16th century and was greeted by the Zoque people in Quechula.

Carlos Navarrete, an architect who reported about the church with the help of Mexican authorities, said: "The church was abandoned due [to] the big plagues of 1773-1776. At that time we still found the wood form the chorus loft and the roof beams. Also a large ossuary of the victims of the plague that depopulated the area. 

"It was a church built thinking that this could be a great population center, but it never achieved that. It probably never even had a dedicated priest, only receiving visits from those from Tecpatan."

The Temple of Santiago depended on Tecpatan, a nearby monastery founded in 1564. Tecpatan and the Temple of Quechula were built with architectural similarities, which led Navarrete to believe both were constructed by the same builder at nearly the same time.

The last time the Temple was visible was in 2002, when the water had reached such a low level that people were able to walk inside. 

Leonel Mendoza, a local resident, said people were celebrating in 2002. "They came to eat, to hang out, to do business. I sold them fried fish. They did processions around the church," Mendoza explained.

Though the church is not as fully exposed as it was thirteen years ago, Mendoza has been ferrying people to view what they can of the remains.

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