San Francisco Church And Convent, Lima

The Church of San Francisco and Monastery is open almost daily for tours every hour between 9-5 for the low price of 10 Soles. This is a popular attraction and unfortunately there aren't many English speaking tour guides. I had to settle on a Spanish speaking guide, which I found to be difficult in the areas I was particularly interested in. I won't attempt to put any background info from guide books, because I really didn't experience that part of the tour. The entire tour doesn't allow photography. I was bummed because I was really interested in the Last Supper painting. Jesus and his disciples were enjoying a lovely roasted cuy! Another interesting point to mention would be the vandalized frescos through out the monastery. The monks on the frescos have their faces completely scratched out. I wish that I could have asked why this occured. And finally the catacombs are such a hit on the tour. It is quite an amazing sight!

Another quick tip: Visit during the week if you would like to have the chance to take a full picture of the front the church with out the entire front plaza filled with vendors.
*cuy is guinea pig, yes peruvians eat guinea pig!
** Photos and video are not permitted in the church or in the catacombs!

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Nestled almost adjacent to the Cathedral of Lima is the impressive Iglesia y Convento de San Francisco. The church was built in 1674 and is considered to be an outstanding example of colonial baroque architecture. At the door is a very nice wooden portal. Inside the church there is a very nice altar and well preserved wooden stairs. There is a tour of the church that takes about an hour but we didn't go. In the basement of the church is a former burial ground with a catacomb and hundreds of skulls.

The San Francisco Monastery was built by donation between 1546 and 1735. ( Franciscans rely on donations because they don’t do business.) Usually their facilities are rather plain, but their rich benefactors were showing off. There are hand painted tiles from Spain, and one altar that is solid silver. Walls in the priests’ dressing room are carved wood covered with gold and the floor is alabaster.

Benefactors expect the honor of being buried under the church floor, but there were too many of them. They solved the problem with catacombs. Estimates range from 25,000-70,000 skeletons down there, and some of the bones arranged in decorative patterns.

Built in 1557, destroyed by earthquakes in 1656 and rebuilt in 1672, San Francisco is a fascinating church to explore in Lima. Contained here is a church, convent, eerie cloisters, and a library with ancient manuscripts and books. We took a very educational guided tour of the complex. As you explore the church make sure to look for the painting of The Last Supper. The one in this church as a very Peruvian context. The meal being served is Cuy better known as Peruvian Guinea Pig.

The monumental set of buildings of San Francisco of Lima, is the most representative jewel of the viceregal architecture of Peru, being the most beautiful colonial complex located in the historical center of the city. The buildings of this remarkable set are churches of San Francisco, La Soledad and El Milagro, that together with the courtyards and annexed are known the MONASTERY OF SAN FRANCISCO.

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The San Francisco Church and Monastery is located only a few blocks from Plaza de Armas. It is one of the best preserved colonial churches, originally constructed in the middle of the 17th century. The church survived the earthquakes of 1687 and 1746, but the earthquake of 1970 caused serious damage. However, the church has been well restored and now stands in its original Baroque style.

We started with a walk on our own through the beautiful church and later visited the old monastery, which is now a museum. A one-hour guided tour with English-speaking guide was included in the entrance fee, and you must follow the group – you’re not allowed to explore the museum on your own.

The guided tour through the monastery was quite interesting. We passed through many halls and gangways with great woodwork, beautiful ceilings, fantastic paintings, and exhibitions with religious art. We also visited the monastery library, which is one of the oldest and most historically important libraries in the Americas and contains thousands of antique texts – some dating as far back as the conquistadors. The tour also included a visit to the labyrinth catacombs beneath the church. The church served as the first official Catholic cemetery in Lima and estimated 25,000 people are buried here. There were bones and skulls everywhere in the dark catacombs - strange to see how the conservationists had sorted and neatly arranged the bones…

We were not allowed to take pictures inside the museum.

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This old colonial building has tons to recommend it. It was built around an interior courtyard which is full of lovely green foliage and cloisters and fresh air. Numerous walls are covered with colorful Portuguese and Spanish tiles so the look is both Moorish and Spanish. There are many beautiful paintings throughout the rooms, including one of The Last Supper with angels bearing parrot wings – exactly the kind of local influence I love to come across! The Franciscan monks collected a world-renowned library set in a beautiful room that looks even older than it is. Our guide said that a couple of the books were so old they were hand-written. You can’t walk into the room because it’s so fragile, but you can look in from the doorway – it reminded me a bit of the ornate libraries in the Strahov Monastery in Prague.

In the crypt you’ll find the ghoulish catacombs, where tens of thousands of old bones have been arranged in geometric patterns. I think a lot of people take the tour just to see this area, but in my opinion the monastery would be well worth visiting even without it.
The San Francisco church is attached to the monastery and is worth a look as well. It has many elaborate and ornate statues and paintings in the little altars up and down each side, and a beautiful dark wood altar.

The tours (you can’t go in on your own) only cost $2 or $3, and they’re offered in both Spanish and English.

Deep under Iglesia San Francisco is its weirdest site. In the catacombs are the remains of 1000's. The monks here have arranged these remains by bone types. The strangest is this arrangement in an old well.