The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heavens is the seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mexico. It is situated atop the former Aztec sacred precinct near the Templo Mayor on the northern side of the Plaza de la Constitución in Downtown Mexico City; the cathedral was built in sections from 1573 to 1813 around the original church, constructed soon after the Spanish conquest of Tenochtitlan replacing it entirely. Spanish architect Claudio de Arciniega planned the construction, drawing inspiration from Gothic cathedrals in Spain. Due to the long time it took to build it, just under 250 years all the main architects, sculptors, gilding masters and other plastic artists of the viceroyalty worked at some point in the construction of the enclosure; this same condition, that of its extensive period of construction, allowed the integration into it of the various architectural styles that were in force and in vogue in those centuries: Gothic, Churrigueresque, among others.

Same situation experienced different ornaments, paintings and furniture in the interior. Its realization meant a point of social cohesion, because it involved the same ecclesiastical authorities, government authorities, different religious brotherhoods as many generations of social groups of all classes, it is as a consequence of the influence of the Catholic Church on public life, that the building was intertwined with events of historical significance for the societies of New Spain and independent Mexico. To mention a few, there are the coronation of Agustín de Iturbide and Ana María Huarte as emperors of Mexico by the President of the Congress; the cathedral faces south. The approximate measurements of this church are 59 metres wide by 128 metres long and a height of 67 metres to the tip of the towers, it consists of a central dome, three main portals. It has four façades which contain portals flanked with statues, it has five naves consisting of 74 arches and 40 columns. The two bell towers contain a total of 25 bells.

The tabernacle, adjacent to the cathedral, contains the baptistery and serves to register the parishioners. There are five large, ornate altars, a sacristy, a choir, a choir area, a corridor and a capitulary room. Fourteen of the cathedral's sixteen chapels are open to the public; each chapel is dedicated to a different saint or saints, each was sponsored by a religious guild. The chapels contain ornate altars, retablos, paintings and sculptures; the cathedral is home to two of the largest 18th-century organs in the Americas. There is a crypt underneath the cathedral; the cathedral has 150 windows. Over the centuries, the cathedral has suffered damage. A fire in 1967 destroyed a significant part of the cathedral's interior; the restoration work that followed uncovered a number of important documents and artwork, hidden. Although a solid foundation was built for the cathedral, the soft clay soil it is built on has been a threat to its structural integrity. Dropping water tables and accelerated sinking caused the structure to be added to the World Monuments Fund list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites.

Restoration work beginning in the 1990s stabilized the cathedral and it was removed from the endangered list in 2000. After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, after The return of Hernán Cortés from the exploration of today Honduras, the conquistadors decided to build a church on the site of the Templo Mayor of the Aztec City of Tenochtitlan in order to consolidate Spanish power over the newly conquered territory. There is evidence of the existence of a great major temple dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl, a temple dedicated to the god Huītzilōpōchtli and other minor buildings; the architect Martín de Sepúlveda was the first director of the project between 1524 and 1532, while Juan de Zumárraga was the first bishop of the episcopal see in the New World. The cathedral of Zumárraga was located in the northeastern part of, it had three naves separated by Tuscan columns, the central ceiling had intricate engravings made by Juan Salcedo Espinosa and guilded by Francisco de Zumaya and Andrés de la Concha.

The main door was Renaissance style. The choir had 48 ceremonial chairs made by hand by Adrián Suster and Juan Montaño in pinus ayacahuite wood. For the construction, they used the stones of the destroyed temple of the god Huītzilōpōchtli, god of war and principal deity of the Aztecs. In spite of everything, this temple was soon considered insufficient for the growing importance of the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain; this first church was elevated to a cathedral by King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and Pope Clement VII according to the bull of 9 September 1534 and named Metropolitan by Pope Paul III in 1547. This small, poor church, vilified by all the chroniclers who judged it unworthy of such famous new city, rendered its services well that badly for long years. Soon it was ordered that a new temple be erected, proportionate sumptuousness to the greatness of the colony more, but this new factory encountered so many obstacles for it

A Bishop's Ring is a diffuse brown or bluish halo observed around the sun. It is observed after large volcanic eruptions; the first recorded observation of a Bishop's Ring was by Rev. Sereno Edwards Bishop of Honolulu, after the Krakatoa eruption of August 27, 1883; this gigantic explosion threw a vast quantity of dust and volatile gases into the atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols remained in the stratosphere, causing colorful sunrises and sunsets for several years; the first observation of this ring was published in 1883, being described as a “faint halo” around the sun. Bishop observed the phenomenon on September 5, 1883. Most observations agree that the inner rim of the ring is whitish or bluish white and that its outside is reddish, brownish or purple; the area enclosed by the ring is brighter than its surroundings. From the sequence of colors with the red on the outside one can conclude that the phenomenon is caused by diffraction because halos always have their red part on their inside. On average, the radius of the ring is about 28°, but it can vary between 10° and 30°, depending on the dust size.

The maximum of 30° is a rather big radius which can only be caused by small dust particles which all have to be of about the same size. Sulfur compound aerosols derived from volcanic eruptions have been found to be the source for the Bishop's Ring effect. A Bishop‘s Ring was observed for a long period of time in Japan after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo. Photograph of a Bishop's Ring, with commentary. Meteorology glossary entry for Bishop's Ring

Paul Gregory Byrd, is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher, a TV sports broadcaster for Atlanta Braves games on Fox Sports Southeast. While pitching in Major League Baseball, from 1995 to 2009, Byrd was known as being the "nicest guy in baseball." Late in his career, he developed an old-fashioned, early twentieth-century windup in which he swung his arms back and forth to create deception and momentum. Byrd became recognizable and well known for his unique delivery. Byrd played his high school career at Saint Xavier High School in Kentucky. Byrd attended Louisiana State University where he pitched as part of the Tigers baseball team that won the 1991 College World Series, he was drafted in the fourth round of the 1991 Major League Baseball draft by the Cleveland Indians. Byrd spent five years in the minor leagues before being traded to the New York Mets and making his major league debut on July 28, 1995; as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies, Byrd was selected for the 1999 Major League Baseball All-Star Game.

Byrd's career was revived in 2002, when he won 17 games, despite pitching for a Kansas City Royals team that lost 100 games. Byrd parlayed his 2002 season into a two-year free agent contract with the Atlanta Braves. On July 1, 2003, Byrd underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow, he was able to come back from the operation and pitch in his first postseason appearance for the Braves during the 2004 National League Division Series. In December 2004, the Anaheim Angels signed Byrd to a $5 million, one-year contract following the trade of right-handed pitcher Ramón Ortiz to the Cincinnati Reds. Byrd went, he was second in the American League with 21 quality starts. In 2007, Byrd was third best to CC Sabathia and Fausto Carmona on the Indians team. On October 8, 2007, Byrd was the winning pitcher in a 6–4 win against the New York Yankees, giving the Cleveland Indians a 3–1 series win in the 2007 American League Division Series. Byrd pitched again on October 16, this time against the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS.

He went five innings, giving up two earned runs and striking out four, gaining the victory in an Indians 7–3 win to take a 3–1 lead in the best of seven series. On August 12, 2008, Byrd was traded from the Cleveland Indians to the Boston Red Sox for a player to be named later. A free agent at the end of the season, he announced on January 14, 2009, that he would sit out the beginning of the 2009 season to spend more time with his family and sign a deal with a contending team midseason. Byrd mentioned he would like to sign with a team, close to his home in Georgia. On August 5, 2009, the Boston Red Sox signed Byrd to a minor-league contract. Byrd made his first major league start of the 2009 season for the Red Sox on August 30, 2009, against the Toronto Blue Jays. Byrd went six innings, giving up three walks and no runs. Byrd has written a book called Free Byrd about his life, detailing both his devout Christianity and past struggles with pornography, among other things. Byrd's wife, Kym, is a certified life coach where she helps married athletes with the rigors of their unique marriages.

Together, with Paul's help, Kym surveys couples in baseball in hopes of helping those families in need. Through an organization called CRU, Paul and Kym travel to various colleges around the United States speaking to students about "Faith in Sports" and "How to Stay Married in a Career Dominated Lifestyle." On October 21, 2007, Byrd was accused of using HGH by the San Francisco Chronicle. The paper accused him of spending $24,850 on HGH and syringes from 2002 to 2005. Byrd defended himself, claiming that he was being treated for a tumor on his pituitary gland, took the drugs under medical supervision. Subsequent news reports assert that Byrd began taking HGH before any pituitary gland condition was diagnosed and that one of the medical professionals to have prescribed Byrd HGH was a Florida dentist whose dental license had been suspended for fraud and incompetence. Rob Manfred MLB senior vice president for business and labor, asserted that Byrd did not have a therapeutic use exemption as he claimed.

On December 13, 2007, Paul Byrd was cited in the Mitchell Report on illegal use of performance-enhancing substances in baseball. As of 2019, Byrd is a TV sports broadcaster with Fox Sports Southeast covering Atlanta Braves games, he does on-the-field interviews and provides analytical color commentary in tandem with the Braves' play-by-play announcer Chip Caray and Jeff Francoeur. List of Major League Baseball career wins leaders List of Major League Baseball players named in the Mitchell Report Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball-Reference, or Retrosheet Paul Byrd at Ultimate Mets Database