tilting towers and ensured that the cathedral will sink uniformly. 21st-century work Since the earthquake in 2017, the cathedral is undergoing a reconstruction to restore the damages caused by the earthquake. During the reconstruction, the workers found 23 lead boxes that contain religious relics such as small paintings and wood or palm crosses. The boxes contained written inscriptions dedicated to specific saints and also indicated that the boxes were found previously by a group of masons and painters in 1810, and reburied. Cultural value The cathedral has been a focus of Mexican cultural identity, and is a testament to its colonial history. People often gather there to worship and attend religious services. Researcher Manuel Rivera Cambas reported that the cathedral was built on the site sacred precinct of the Aztecs and with the very stones of their temples so that the Spaniards could lay claim to the land and the people. Hernán Cortés supposedly himself laid the first stone of the original church. It once was an important religious center, used exclusively by the prominent families of New Spain. At the beginning of Mexican independence, during the First Mexican Empire, Emperor Agustin I was crowned Emperor of Mexico in the cathedral in the presence of the bishops of Puebla, Guadalajara, Durango, and Oaxaca. In 1864, during the Second Mexican Empire, Emperor Maximilian I of Mexico and his consort Empress Carlota, formerly Archduke of Austria and Princess of Belgium, were also crowned with the Imperial Crown of Mexico at the cathedral after their magnificent arrival in the capital of their reign. Located on the Zocalo it has, over time, been the focus of social and cultural activities, most of which have occurred in the 20th and 21st centuries. The cathedral was closed for four years while President Plutarco Elías Calles attempted to enforce Mexico's anti-religious laws. Pope Pius XI closed the church, ordering priests to cease their public religious duties in all Mexican churches. After the Mexican government and the papacy came to terms and major renovations were performed on the cathedral, it reopened in 1930. The cathedral has been the scene of several protests both from the church and to the church, including a protest by women over the Church's exhortation for women not to wear mini-skirts and other provocative clothing to avoid rape, and a candlelight vigil to protest against kidnappings in Mexico. The cathedral itself has been used