See The 400-year-old Church

See the 400-year-old church that just emerged from underwater

A 400-year-old church in Mexico just had a Lazarus moment.

The Temple of Santiago in Nueva Quechula, found in the Chiapas state in Mexico, emerged from the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir this week because the reservoir is going through a drought, according to The Associated Press. The church was flooded 40 years ago during construction of a dam on the Grijalva river, AP reported.
The church similarly appeared in 2002 because of a drought, which was so substantial the visitors could walk through the temple, according to The AP.

"The people celebrated. They came to eat, to hang out, to do business. I sold them fried fish. They did processions around the church," a local fisherman told The AP.
The church, which was built in the 16th century by a group of monks, had a short time in the spotlight, since believers abandoned it in the 18th century, AP reported.

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

The remains of a mid-16th century church known as the Temple of Santiago, as well as the Temple of Quechula, is visible from the surface of the Grijalva River, which feeds the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir, due to the lack of rain near the town of Nueva Quechula, in Chiapas state, Mexico, Friday, Oct. 16, 2015. The temple, built by Dominican friars in the region inhabited by the Zoque people, was submerged in 1966 when the Nezahualcoyotl dam was built. (AP Photo/David von Blohn)

Photo credit: David von Blohn

The remains of a mid-16th century church known as the Temple of Santiago, as well as the Temple of Quechula, is visible from the surface of the Grijalva River, which feeds the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir, due to the lack of rain near the town of Nueva Quechula, in Chiapas state, Mexico, Friday, Oct. 16, 2015. The temple, built by Dominican friars in the region inhabited by the Zoque people, was submerged in 1966 when the Nezahualcoyotl dam was built. (AP Photo/David von Blohn)

Herb Scribner is a writer for Deseret News National. Send him an email at hscribner@deseretdigital.com or follow him on Twitter @herbscribner.

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