Ecumenical Chapel
Vieques, Puerto Rico

The Ecumenical Chapel of Vieques was constructed in 1999, after a 500-pound bomb was launched by the United States Navy killing a security guard by mistake. The death began a civil protest to avoid more accidents and to remove the Navy base from Vieques. The chapel became the spiritual symbol of the movement. In 2000, when the Navy base was removed from the Island, the chapel was torn down. In 2002 a replica of the chapel was constructed and located in San Juan, near the Capitol building. In 2003 the Governor of Puerto Rico decided to send the chapel back to Vieques. It was unloaded and moved by truck to the territory previously occupied by the Navy in the western side of Vieques. A beautiful landscape surrounds the chapel. There are several beachfront gazebos nearby. There is an extensive land where you can fly kites and see the horses that ride freely in the Island.