inSPIREd Sunday - Las Monjas

Sally and Beth host inSPIREd Sunday!

January 2016 - San Miguel de Allende Mexico

One of the first churches we visited during our stay.

The Iglesia de la Inmaculada Concepción known locally as “Las Monjas” (the Nuns), was originally constructed as part of an extensive housing complex, and continues even today to serve as a convent for the sisters of the order of the Immaculate Conception Church. 

The Cloisters have now become part of the Bellas Artes which I will post on a later date.

The convent was founded in 1754 after the eldest daughter of the town's most important family petitioned the King of Spain to found a congregation to be known as the Sisters of the Immaculate Conception.

Dona Maria Josefa Lina de la Canal y Hervas was only 16 when she petitioned the king. With recently deceased parents and a huge fortune, she was probably the most eligible bachelorette in town. But she held true to her vocation which seemed to be about piety, not necessarily good works.

The church was built between 1755 and 1842, and the elegant dome was added by Zeferino Gutierrez in 1891. Las Monjas' most distinctive architectural feature is its dome, patterned after that on the Chapel of Les Invalides on Paris's left bank. Gutierrez is the same illiterate builder of the incredible tower of La Parroquia de San Miguel Arcangel.

This gate is the entrance to the nuns' private chapel where they sing during services.

 The four evangelists are featured around the dome.

The holy water font or stoup is a seashell.

The view from the balcony of the Bellas Artes next door.

The view looking up the street. 

The view from the lookout.

The view from the Rosewood patio.