The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco

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In the Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, on the occasion of the celebration of the Day of Saint Francis of Assisi on October 4th, we explored the installations of his order in Lima, one of the most visited places in the capital. The first members of the Franciscan order arrived in our lands together with Pizarro and Almagro, and they settled on the corner of Lampa and Áncash streets in 1546, a place they still occupy today.

Inside

The current structure of the Basilica and the Convent of San Francisco was the work of the master builders Constantino de Vasconcellos and Manuel Escobar. It was completed in 1672. The style is baroque with Moorish influence.

The Catacombs

Catacombs means underground burial. Since the church was finished in the 17th century, the people belonging to the different brotherhoods, guilds and families buried their dead under the altars in the side chapels, unconnected to each other until 1657, when corridors were created to join the tombs. Although General San Martín prohibited their use in 1821, bodies continued to be buried clandestinely, a custom that was lost over the years.

History

This group of religious precincts is undoubtedly one of the most important and best architectural centres in the city. It is also one of the most extensive and beautiful legacies of the viceregal era. Consequently, it has become one of the cultural centres of Peru that generates the greatest interest in visitors. The buildings of the Sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, with its neoclassical façade, the Convent of San Francisco itself, with its baroque façade. The Chapel of the Miracle, with a neoclassical façade. These are the buildings that make up this marvellous monumental complex.

Once Lima was founded, on 18th January 1535, by Francisco Pizarro, the plan of the city was drawn up and the plots of land were distributed. The Franciscan Order of the Twelve Apostles was given one of them, next to that of Santo Domingo. After a while, Father De la Cruz had to leave. As there was no other Franciscan in the valley, the site was abandoned. During the following century, the temple underwent a series of decorations that ended up turning it into a marvel of art in the viceregal era. Its construction was not very solid at that time. In 1614, the architect and main worker of the convent, Fray Miguel de Huerta, noticed that the pillars of the temple had scarce foundations and were placed on rubble.

On 4 February 1655, an earthquake occurred in Lima that brought down the Franciscan temple, destroying its incalculable artistic riches and bringing down all the effort of a century.

Fortunately, the Order was not daunted by this ordeal. Francisco de Borja, its general commissioner, contracted the services of the Portuguese architect Constantino de Vasconcellos, who drew up the plans, and the Lima master builder Manuel Escobar, to commission them to build a new temple on the same site.

Final

The new temple was inaugurated with great pomp on 3 October 1672, and repairs continued inside the convent until 1729. The interior of the convent today has a number of attractive features that we will describe one by one, together with its remarkable courtyards and gardens, which are surrounded by arcades with plinths of Sevillian tiles from the workshop of Hernando de Valladares. Without wasting any time, the confessor immediately went to the Palace to ask for Godínez's pardon, which he obtained on the condition that he would wear the habit of a layman and would never set foot outside the convent door again.