In front of the cathedral stand a series of 12 pillars, solemnly remembering the names of thousands of people forcibly disappeared or murdered during the counterinsurgency violence of Guatemala's internal armed conflict, which began in 1960 and lasted until the final peace accord was signed in 1996.

On 28 October 2003, Pope John Paul II authorized the canonical coronation of the Immaculate Conception enshrined within the cathedral which occurred on 5 December 2004.

The papal bull was signed and executed by Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Sacred Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments.

It did not take long for the authorities to replace rebel archbishop Cortés y Larraz, who left in favor of Cayetano Francos y Monroy, who arrived in late 1779 and took over the building projects of the religious settlements in the new city.

[3] Work began officially on 13 August 1783 and lasted until 1815, when the sculpture of Our Lay of Perpetual Help was transported in procession from Santa Rosa and was placed in the main altar of its new chapel in the cathedral, where it has remained since then.

[3] The towers were completed in 1867 and the bronze from the San José Fort cannons was used to build the main bell, which was blessed during the first Vatican Council in 1871, and which became known as "La Chepona" since then.

[8] On 4 February 1976, at 03:01:43 AM (09:01:43 UTC), a magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred close to Los Amates, in Izabal Department, 160 km northeast of Guatemala City.