Sacred places in Panama: temples, churches, shrines and mosques

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Catholicism · Panamá · 1688 tới 1796Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama CityCatedral Basílica Metropolitana Santa María la Antigua, Catedral Metropolitana de Panamá, Metropolitan Cathedral of Panama City, Cathedral Basilica of Santa María la Antigua

The metropolitan cathedral of the Archdiocese of Panama in the historic Casco Antiguo district, built in stone over 108 years from 1688 to 1796 with twin bell towers inlaid with mother-of-pearl from the Pearl Islands. Following a comprehensive restoration, it reopened on January 26, 2019 when Pope Francis consecrated its new altar during World Youth Day.

UNESCO World Heritage Site (Historic District of Panamá, 1997), National Historic Monument (1941)Plaza de la Independencia (Plaza Catedral), Casco Antiguo, Ciudad de Panamá

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Photo: Jjimenez0921, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

the Bahá'í Faith · Panamá Province (San Miguelito District) · Được Đức Giám hộ Shoghi Effendi hoạch định năm 1953; đặt viên đá móng ngày 8 tháng 10 năm 1967; khởi công xây dựng ngày 1 tháng 12 năm 1969 theo đồ án của kiến trúc sư người Anh Peter Tillotson và khánh thành trọng thể ngày 29 tới 30 tháng 4 năm 1972 với sự hiện diện của Bàn tay Chính Đạo Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih KhánumPanama Bahá'í House of WorshipTemplo Baha'i de Panama, Casa de Adoracion Baha'i de Panama, Baha'i Mother Temple of Latin America on Cerro Sonsonate

The Baha'i Mother Temple of Latin America and the Caribbean crowning the 225-meter summit of Cerro Sonsonate overlooking Panama City and the continental isthmus, designed by British architect Peter Tillotson and dedicated on April 29 to 30, 1972, featuring a 28-meter white parabolic dome clad in 400,000 crystalline tiles resting upon nine open-air piers of reddish native Pacora stone carved with pre-Columbian indigenous geometric patterns.

Continental Baha'i House of Worship (Mother Temple of Latin America, Mashriqu'l-Adhkar) and Architectural Landmark of the Republic of PanamaCerro Sonsonate Hill, Mile 8 (Milla 8), Transístmica Highway (Vía Simón Bolívar), San Miguelito District, Panama City, Republic of Panama

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Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Jorge57 assumed (based on copyright claims), Phạm vi công cộng, Wikimedia Commons

Judaism · Panamá Province (Panama City) · Thành lập ngày 14 tháng 5 năm 1876 bởi các gia đình Do Thái gốc Tây Ban Nha và Bồ Đào Nha (Sephardic) di cư từ đảo Curacao và vùng Caribe; khánh thành hội đường lịch sử tại Đại lộ Cuba ngày 17 tháng 3 năm 1935; khánh thành tổ hợp giáo đường và trung tâm văn hóa mới tại Costa del Este năm 2012Kol Shearith Israel Synagogue, Panama CityCongregacion Kol Shearith Israel, Sinagoga Kol Shearith Israel, Voice of the Remnant of Israel Synagogue in Panama City

The oldest Jewish congregation in the Republic of Panama, founded on May 14, 1876 as a burial and benevolent society by Spanish-Portuguese Sephardic Jewish families from Curacao and Saint Thomas whose civic leaders played a vital role in Panamanian independence in 1903, transitioning from its landmark 1935 sanctuary on Avenida Cuba to its modern synagogue and cultural center in Costa del Este in 2012.

Oldest Jewish Congregation and Synagogue in the Republic of Panama (Member of the World Union for Progressive Judaism and the Federation of Jewish Communities of Central America)Paseo del Mar and Calle 66 Este, Costa del Este (and historic 1935 sanctuary at Avenida Cuba and Calle 36, Calidonia), Panama City, Republic of Panama

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Photo: Ivo Kruusamägi, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Catholicism · Panamá Province (Panama City) · Tiền thân là tu viện của Dòng Augustinô Nhặt Phép tại thành phố cũ Panamá Viejo (lập năm 1612, bị thiêu hủy trong cuộc tấn công của cướp biển Henry Morgan tháng 1 năm 1671); xây dựng lại tại bán đảo Casco Antiguo từ năm 1671 tới 1677; chế tác và dát vàng Bàn thờ Vàng Baroque vào cuối thế kỷ 17 tới đầu thế kỷ 18; cải tạo mặt tiền năm 1897 và trùng tu bảo tồn đầu thế kỷ 21Church of San José and the Golden Altar, Panama CityIglesia de San Jose de Panama, El Altar de Oro de San Jose, Church of the Augustinian Recollects in Casco Antiguo

The historic church of the Order of Augustinian Recollects erected between 1671 and 1677 in the UNESCO World Heritage district of Casco Viejo after the destruction of Old Panama by privateer Henry Morgan, celebrated across the Americas for its monumental Baroque Golden Altar (Altar de Oro) carved in mahogany and sheathed in gleaming gold leaf, famously linked to the legend of Fray Juan disguising it in black soot to save it from pirates.

National Historic Monument of the Republic of Panama and Component of the UNESCO World Heritage Site (Archaeological Site of Panama Viejo and Historic District of Panama, inscribed 1997, Ref. 790)Avenida A and Calle 8a Oeste, San Felipe Parish, Historic District of Casco Antiguo (Casco Viejo), Panama City, Republic of Panama

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Photo: Editorpana, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Catholicism · Colón Province (Portobelo District) · Pho tượng Chúa Kitô Đen bằng gỗ cứng sẫm màu xuất hiện kỳ diệu tại cảng Portobelo vào ngày 21 tháng 10 năm 1658 và gắn liền với phép lạ chấm dứt dịch tả; ngôi nhà thờ đá San Felipe hiện tại được khởi công năm 1796 và khánh thành ngày 21 tháng 10 năm 1814 thay thế nhà thờ nhỏ thế kỷ 17; bổ sung tháp chuông gỗ năm 1945Church of San Felipe and the Black Christ, PortobeloIglesia de San Felipe de Portobelo, Santuario del Cristo Negro de Portobelo, Shrine of Jesus the Nazarene (El Nazareno) in Portobelo

Panama's premier national Catholic pilgrimage sanctuary overlooking the historic Spanish treasure port of Portobelo Bay on the Caribbean coast (UNESCO World Heritage Site, 1980), constructed of coral stone between 1796 and October 21, 1814 to enshrine the revered 1658 dark hardwood statue of the Black Christ of Portobelo (El Nazareno), drawing up to 100,000 purple-robed pilgrims every year for the feast of October 21.

Foremost National Catholic Pilgrimage Sanctuary of Panama, National Historic Monument (Law 61 of 1908 and Law 68 of 1941), and Component of the UNESCO World Heritage Site (Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo, inscribed 1980, Ref. 135)Calle Principal facing Portobelo Bay, Historic Port Town of Portobelo, Portobelo District, Colón Province, Caribbean Coast, Republic of Panama

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Photo: GiankM. M, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

IIHelp Us Build This

This library is open and free, and it records its own progress in public. Three things you can help with today:

Name a place we missedA founding temple, a church, a mosque, a shrine the table above does not have. Send the name, the province, and one line on why it belongs.
Send a photograph with an open licenceNothing is published without both the photographer and the licence. Your own photograph with your permission, or an openly licensed one, are both welcome.
Report an errorA wrong date, a wrong original name, a wrong lineage, a wrong address. A library that is wrong once is not trusted again, so corrections are very welcome.

Write to thayungkhiem@gmail.com

IIILog

24/10/2026Completed three major initiatives on the same day: (1) Verified primary international sources and published the remaining 199 full English editions across 192 countries and territories, officially completing Stage D with 100% bilingual Vietnamese and English coverage across the entire library. (2) Visually verified and published 35 openly licensed Wikimedia Commons photographs for 22 sites in Vietnam and 13 international sanctuaries. (3) Authored 100 new bilingual sacred place monographs with real photographs for Stage C across 25 countries and territories (South Korea, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Russia, Turkey, Egypt, Israel, Canada and Mexico), expanding each from 1 to 5 places and bringing the library to 761 sacred places.
29/09/2026Officially opened the doors of Hall of Myriad Paths to readers worldwide as a living spiritual library that grows every day. On the same day, authored 60 new Stage A sacred place monographs across 60 countries in the Nordic and Baltic regions, the Balkans, the Gulf, Central Asia, European microstates, Africa, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean (including Roskilde Cathedral, Hallgrímskirkja, the Gate of Dawn in Vilnius, Ostrog Monastery, Malé Friday Mosque, Sulayman-Too, Old Orhei, the Temple in the Sea and Ambohimanga), while verifying and publishing 59 openly licensed photographs for the second and third batches.

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?Quick Questions

Why are there no opening hours or ticket prices

Because they change constantly. A library that is wrong once about a practical detail loses its standing on everything else. Check with the place itself before you travel.

Where do the images come from

From Wikimedia Commons under open licences, each credited to its photographer, or photographed by UK MASTER ACADEMY. No image is published without both its author and its licence.

How were these places chosen

Four tests: it is officially listed as a heritage site, it belongs to a tradition this library covers, its site and orientation can be read in feng shui terms, and an openly licensed photograph exists.

Why is my country still grey

The library opens one country at a time, beginning with the countries that have the most readers, and within each country with its most significant places. A grey country is simply one whose turn has not come. Suggestions are welcome through the page of Master Ưng Khiêm.

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