Iglesia de San Francisco (San Francisco Church), Montevideo
San Francisco Church is located in the Old City and should not be confused with the Church of Saint Francis from the district of New Paris. The current church replaced the earlier building on the corner of Piedras Street and Zabala Square, built by the Jesuits in 1724. That church was transferred to the Franciscans in 1740.
The San Francisco Church has three naves under groin vault ceilings, a transept, and a semi-circular apse. The aisles are exceptionally high. There are four lower chapels on each side of the center nave housed between the buttresses. The tower has five bells in its carillon. Under the church is the crypt of the Lord of Patience.
This building is the epitome of what might be called Eclecticism. It joins several venerable styles within a single work. Greco-Roman classicism meets the Middle Ages in a composition featuring flying buttresses, a respectable rose window, Gothic arched windows grouped by twos and threes, and a Romanesque tower reaching skyward.
The temple we see today is an 1864 rebuild of the church of 1790. The rebuilding was under the direction of French-Uruguayan architect Victor Rabu. The central nave was inaugurated in 1881. In 1901 the tower was completed.
The crypt of the Lord of Patience is a place of quiet veneration in the Jesuit manner. The walls of the crypt are covered by the written prayers and messages of devotees. People baptized here have returned ever and ever again to the altar of the Lord of Patience.
The San Francisco Church has three naves under groin vault ceilings, a transept, and a semi-circular apse. The aisles are exceptionally high. There are four lower chapels on each side of the center nave housed between the buttresses. The tower has five bells in its carillon. Under the church is the crypt of the Lord of Patience.
This building is the epitome of what might be called Eclecticism. It joins several venerable styles within a single work. Greco-Roman classicism meets the Middle Ages in a composition featuring flying buttresses, a respectable rose window, Gothic arched windows grouped by twos and threes, and a Romanesque tower reaching skyward.
The temple we see today is an 1864 rebuild of the church of 1790. The rebuilding was under the direction of French-Uruguayan architect Victor Rabu. The central nave was inaugurated in 1881. In 1901 the tower was completed.
The crypt of the Lord of Patience is a place of quiet veneration in the Jesuit manner. The walls of the crypt are covered by the written prayers and messages of devotees. People baptized here have returned ever and ever again to the altar of the Lord of Patience.
Want to visit this sight? Check out these Self-Guided Walking Tours in Montevideo. Alternatively, you can download the mobile app "GPSmyCity: Walks in 1K+ Cities" from Apple App Store or Google Play Store. The app turns your mobile device to a personal tour guide and it works offline, so no data plan is needed when traveling abroad.
Iglesia de San Francisco (San Francisco Church) on Map
Sight Name: Iglesia de San Francisco (San Francisco Church)
Sight Location: Montevideo, Uruguay (See walking tours in Montevideo)
Sight Type: Religious
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Sight Location: Montevideo, Uruguay (See walking tours in Montevideo)
Sight Type: Religious
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:
Walking Tours in Montevideo, Uruguay
Create Your Own Walk in Montevideo
Creating your own self-guided walk in Montevideo is easy and fun. Choose the city attractions that you want to see and a walk route map will be created just for you. You can even set your hotel as the start point of the walk.
Montevideo Old Town Walking Tour
In 1683, the Portuguese founded a city called Colonia do Sacramento across the bay from Buenos Aires. Field marshal Manuel da Fonseca built a fort there he called Montevieu. In 1724, the Spanish governor of Buenos Aires, one-armed Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, forced the Portuguese out and changed the name of the city.
Bruno and the Spanish settlers called their new city "Saint Philip and... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.5 Km or 1.6 Miles
Bruno and the Spanish settlers called their new city "Saint Philip and... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 2.5 Km or 1.6 Miles
Prado District Walking Tour
A quiet, upscale barrio El Prado, in the north of Montevideo, is famous primarily for the sprawling park of the same name. Indeed, the city’s main green space, Parque del Prado is a major public venue made up of grassy fields, with the Arroyo Miguelete (Miguelete Creek) running through it, for which the neighborhood has been dubbed "the lung of the city".
Apart from the park,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles
Apart from the park,... view more
Tour Duration: 2 Hour(s)
Travel Distance: 3.6 Km or 2.2 Miles