This article employs a hermeneutic approach to analyse the adaptation of Neo-Gothic great temples in Latin America, focusing on the Expiatory Temple of Guadalajara (Mexico) and the Cathedral of La Plata (Argentina). Departing from the notion of Neo-Gothic as a mere replication of European precedents, the study demonstrates how these monumental churches have been reinterpreted to meet the spiritual, historical, and civic needs of their environments. Their architecture and iconography embody layered meanings, merging universal Catholic symbols with regional culture, urban planning, and local memory. In Guadalajara, the Expiatory Temple draws from the Italian Cathedral of Orvieto to create a narrative centred on Eucharistic devotion, recast through Mexican artistic and liturgical traditions. The Cathedral of La Plata stands as an architectural focal point in a rigorously planned city, articulating a vision that unites faith and civic ideals on a grand scale and through intricate symbolism. Both cathedrals function as “faithscapes,” immersive landscapes in which built form, ritual, and community memory converge. The article concludes that Neo-Gothic cathedrals in Latin America should be recognised as evolving symbolic environments. These buildings embody the intersection of sacred meaning and civic life, offering new possibilities for understanding memory as a phenomenon that is at once religious and civic.
Keywords: Neo-Gothic cathedrals, hermeneutics, civic and religious memory