Buenos Aires Metropolitan Cathedral

On May twenty-ninth, eighteen ten, Cornelio Saavedra, chairman of the First Junta, exchanged letters with the bishop of Buenos Aires about who would stand at the doors of this cathedral the following morning. Saavedra demanded that two senior clergymen receive the city's new leaders and escort them inside. Bishop Benito Lué y Riega replied that free clergymen might not be available for this.

The dispute over those receiving them continued a clash that had begun a few days earlier. Lué defended the old order: the Spanish king had nominated him for the Buenos Aires see, the pope had confirmed the appointment, and both his office and his position were tied to the Crown. At the open meeting of the city council on May twenty-second, the bishop voted for Cisneros to retain authority together with two royal judges.

After Cisneros resigned, Saavedra needed public recognition of the new government. In one of its first letters, the Junta required the bishop to swear allegiance to it. Lué acknowledged it in writing but avoided appearing at the ceremony. The Junta then scheduled a Te Deum here—a solemn Catholic service of thanksgiving. Under Spanish rule, this rite confirmed agreement between the monarch and the church; now the same confirmation was needed by the people who had taken the viceroy's place.

Lué secured May thirtieth for the service, Saint Ferdinand's Day—that is, the name day of King Ferdinand VII. The Junta accepted the date but demanded all the former honors. That morning, two clergymen did receive Saavedra and the other members of the Junta at the entrance. Inside, the bishop led the service, and the new leaders took the places of honor where viceroys had previously sat. The deposed Cisneros also attended the service.

No one escorted the Junta out afterward. The correspondence over this continued for several more weeks; it led to a temporary ban on Lué appearing in the cathedral. Yet Saavedra obtained what mattered: the bishop conducted the ceremony, and the Junta publicly occupied the seats of the former government. Lué's attempt to link the service to the king's name day did not take hold either. Already in eighteen eleven, the Te Deum was scheduled for May twenty-fifth.

The ceremony took place in this same building, but the present portico with twelve columns did not yet exist—it was designed later. The annual state Te Deum still brings an official procession across the square to the cathedral, where the first such rite began with a demand to place two clergymen at the door.