III, where the separation and creation of the Bishopric in Cuenca was established, which entailed the creation of a temple as a Cathedral. However, a project for the construction of the Cathedral, due to the existence of the "El Sagrario" church, would not be completed. Project for the creation of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Cuenca Remigio Estévez de Toral was selected as the Bishop of Cuenca in the year 1860, during his time as bishop there were several problems surrounding the use of the same church as a parish church and as a cathedral. One of the solutions was to change the parish seat to the church of the Company. Due to these problems, the creation of the Cathedral was decided. On March 9, 1872, Bishop Estévez de Toral and the ecclesiastical council proclaimed the construction of the Cathedral. On December 6, 1872, 40 varas of land were assigned for the creation of the Cathedral between the contemporary streets Mariscal Sucre, Simón Bolívar, Benigno Malo and Padre Aguirre. In 1874 the Bishopric of Cuenca received the communiqué of Pope Pius IX, approving the construction and an allocation of 500 pesos were sent. The first that supported this project was the Redemptorist Fathers, they provided help of Brother Juan Stiehle as project architect. In 1885, Miguel León Garrido was named the new Bishop of Cuenca, due to the death of Estévez de Toral in 1883, and later the definitive beginning of the construction of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Cuenca. Construction of the church The construction of the building took a time of 83 years. Below are the most important events: 1885-1900 Miguel Leon Garrido, who was the ninth Bishop of Cuenca, began construction on October 2, 1885, ordering the opening of the foundations. On October 25 of the same year, the work begins formally with the contribution from all the inhabitants of the city. Brother Juan directed the excavation works for these foundations since that same month, although the definitive plans for the Cathedral were not completed. One of the first parts that were built was the Crypt of the Cathedral, for which it was essential to drain the rainwater, deposited in the excavation. Due to the fact that the works in the site were increasing in an accelerated way, Ronualdo Bernal was hired on December 1, 1885, so that he could help Brother Juan