Mexico City, February 4, 2026 – The historic “Altar of the Kings” in Mexico City’s Metropolitan Cathedral has begun a cleaning process, supported by private enterprise. This initiative is part of an effort to “attend to the spiritual heritage” and cultural legacy of the Mexican capital.
Blessing Marks the Start of Restoration
Father José Antonio Carballo García, rector of the Metropolitan Cathedral, blessed the start of the works on Sunday, February 1, with the celebration of a Holy Mass. During the ceremony, he expressed gratitude for the support of Víctor González Torres, popularly known as “Dr. Simi,” and his son, Víctor González Herrera, CEO of Farmacias Similares, one of Latin America’s largest pharmacy chains.
In an interview with ACI Prensa on Tuesday, February 3, Father Carballo García recalled that the altar, also known as the Retablo de los Reyes, “was restored in 2004,” and a cleaning effort was now necessary.
A Meticulous and Challenging Task
“It is a very meticulous and difficult job,” he explained, due to the 25-meter height of the work by Spanish sculptor Jerónimo de Balbás, created 300 years ago, as well as the intricate details characteristic of the Churrigueresque Baroque style, an artistic style from the late 17th and 18th centuries known for its dense decoration and rich details.
The Mexican priest added that “even the scaffolding is special” to allow access to “all the necessary spaces,” given the “different measurements, different depths” of Balbás’s work.
The “Altar of the Kings”: A Rich History
The Altar of the Kings, consecrated in 1737, is adorned with sculptures of various Catholic saint kings and features the painting “The Adoration of the Kings” by Mexican artist Juan Rodríguez Juárez at its center, depicting the Magi adoring the Child Jesus. Crowning the altar is the painting of the Assumption of Mary, patroness of the Metropolitan Cathedral of Mexico City.
Preserving a “Shared Heritage”
Father Carballo García stated that this cleaning work seeks to “attend to the spiritual heritage we have inherited and that many generations have preserved.”
“Today it is our turn to preserve precisely what has been placed in our hands,” he commented. When temples were built centuries ago, he specified, “it was always done thinking about the Church that extends through the centuries.”
In the case of the Mexico Cathedral itself, he recalled, about 450 years have passed since its construction began. And this historic building “was also made with us in mind,” he assured.
The Faith and Generosity of “Dr. Simi”
Regarding Farmacias Similares’ decision to financially support these works, Father Carballo García affirmed that “it is a consequence of faith.”
“I can testify that Don Víctor González, ‘Dr. Simi,’ in the jubilee year, came with his companies, his people, to the Jubilee here at the Metropolitan Cathedral,” he recalled. “It was on Resurrection Day, the feast of Easter, at the 2 p.m. Mass.”
On that occasion, he recounted, “all those from his companies crossed the Holy Door, went into the cathedral, and then we had a brief tour of the church itself.”
“Upon contemplating the altarpiece, he himself expressed the need for cleaning. And then he embraced it in that situation of faith and doing good. Because at the heart of Don Víctor is a life of faith,” he said.
The Mexican priest also highlighted that it was Dr. Simi and Farmacias Similares who promoted “the arrival of the relics of Saint Jude, which visited the entire country.”
The Mexico Cathedral: Evoking the Kingdom of God
The rector of the Metropolitan Cathedral emphasized that the capital’s church “is always open” and “Mass is held every day,” because “it is a building in which eternal life is sought, that is, the kingdom of God is sought, it evokes the kingdom of God.”
This, he concluded, “a museum does not do.” “It will never be the same, for example, to sing Vivaldi’s Gloria as part of a Mass as it is as part of a concert hall.”
Source: ACI Prensa
