The Cathedral of Our Lady of Consolation , ancient church of San Rafael or San Cristobal Parish , is located in the city of San Cristobal , Dominican Republic , 30 km west of Santo Domingo , the capital . This temple was inaugurated on October 24, 1949 , under the government of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo , who propelled him and financed . It is a structure in the form of a Latin cross , with three naves inside a larger center and two smaller side . Its architectural style is somewhat eclectic , sharing aspects of neoclassical in its columns , its Romanesque arches and modern in terms of its internal structure in general. The architect who designed and built was the French Henry Gazón Bona , who by order of Generalissimo Trujillo built this great work looking cathedral as a gift to his hometown . The temple on the outside has two bell towers , front and right side taller than the other two . It has a dome or cupola in the center that gives a spectacular enhancement , and can be seen from quite a distance both elements thereof. Surrounded by gardens and planters with palms and boungavilleas ( Trinitarian ) which gives a touch of nature to the surrounding landscape lush . The temple is adorned in its nave with murals of famous Spanish painter - muralist José Vela Zanetti also created murals for the UN building in New York . These murals dealing with major life passages of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel . Equally important is the temple draws attention because he is under the Trujillo family crypt and specifically the tomb in which the remains rested six months of dictator Trujillo , who ruled the country for 31 long years and whose This tomb can be visited and it will empty sarcophagus and its metal crowns in honor of that figure. The dictator's remains rest in the cemetery modest El Pardo ( Madrid ) , and the distance of their hometown is understood as the rejection of his people to his tyranny .
