 After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , the conquistadors decided to build their church on the site of the Templo Mayor of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan to consolidate Spanish power over the newly conquered domain . Hernán Cortés and the other conquistadors used the stones from the destroyed temple of the Aztec god of war Huitzilopochtli , principal deity of the Aztecs , to build the church . Cortés ordered the original church 's construction after he returned from exploring what is now Honduras . Architect Martín de Sepúlveda was the first director of this project from 1524 to 1532 . Juan de Zumárraga , the first Bishop of the first See of the New World , established in the Viceroyalty of New Spain , promoted this church 's completion . Zumárraga 's Cathedral was located in the northeast portion of what is now the cathedral . It had three naves separated by three Tuscan columns . The central roof was ridged with intricate carvings done by Juan Salcedo Espinosa and gilded by Francisco de Zumaya and Andrés de la Concha . The main door was probably of Renaissance style . The choir area had 48 seats made of ayacahuite wood crafted by Adrian Suster and Juan Montaño . However , this church was soon considered inadequate for the growing importance of the capital of New Spain . 
