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The
construction of the Minor Basilica of St. Sebastian started on December
27th, 1891 and was completed 48 years later in 1939. This period was
considered the "renaissance" of the city of Diriamba.
The project was commissioned by the priest Thomas R. Altamirano, who laid
down the first foundation stone of the church that eventually would be
come one of the most beautiful church of Nicaragua.
The Italian Mario Favilli was the architect who managed the designed of
the Basilica. The Fray Santiago Ponce y Poveda, the craftsmen Don
Tomás Coca and the priests Pío Manuel Gonzalez and Roman de Jesús Castro
also participated in the construction.
According to the history of Diriamba, the Minor Basilica of
St. Sebastian is the sixth church of the city, before there were small churches of wood
made by the indigenous people.
On October 28th of 1964, by the appeal of the bishop of Managua, Vicente
Alejandro Gonzalez y Robleto, the Pope Paul VI raised the status of the
church to the standing of Minor Basilica. The priest Manuel Salazar
Espinosa was the priest in charge of the Basilica in that year.
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