As you may have noticed from our past posts, Antigua Guatemala is known for sites of both historical and religious significance from the Spanish colonial period. In particular, Antigua Guatemala has remnants of convents, monasteries, and cathedrals that are considered must-visit sites for anyone interested in the history of the area. Now that we have had time to visit the major attractions we would like to show you some of what we have seen. Starting with the Capuchinas Church and Convent!
Entrance to Capuchinas Church and Convent.
The Capuchinas Church and Convent has an interesting history, which we encourage you to review from the translated version of its Wikipedia listing.
In particular, we found the two-tier system of nuns a bit eyebrow-raising. Personal servants and chocolate-drinking privileges for nuns from wealthy families? Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised.
Also, the Capuchinas Church and Convent was the first colonial Latin American institution of its kind to remove the need for dowries that prospective nuns would normally have to give to be allowed to enter a life of service in the convent. This move was significant, in that it effectively removed the major barrier preventing the poor from entering a life of religious service.
After passing through the gate and paying the 40 quetzales ($5.09 USD) per non-resident entrance fee, the facility presented a scale diorama depicting the facility at its architectural zenith, before multiple major earthquakes in the 18th century brought it to ruins.
From the diorama room, we were directed to the Main Patio area, which featured a lovely working fountain.
Many of the doorways you may see in the picture lead to working offices where entry is not permitted.
But one passage lead to a stairway that took us down to the Burial Crypt.
We climbed back up the stairs and walked through an archway that lead to the outer courtyard and grounds area.
While we explored the grounds, we found some interesting statues and salvaged remains from pre-earthquake times.
We explored more passageways and found a laundry area…
A secluded room that acted as the bath area…
And a passageway leading to the nun dormitory area, where rooms were arranged in 360 degrees.
Each opening leads to a dormitory room which had its own privy, closet, and area for prayer. This is the current state of most of the rooms…
And here are two reconstructions of what the original dormitory rooms might be like in use.
After exploring the dormitory area, we finished up our exploration of the first level by visiting the Temple Area where services were held.
We then made our way up the stairs to the second level.
View from above.
From here there was an entrance to a museum that displayed art and artifacts that adorned the convent during its zenith. Sadly photography was not allowed, so we don’t have any photographic evidence. But the displays were very nice!
It took us about 2 hours to explore the convent on our own, and we thought that it was definitely worth the entrance fee. Even more so if you happen to be a Guatemalan citizen (10 quetzales)! We see why it is such a popular place with tourists.
Until next time…
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We though so too. That picture wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have our zoom lenses with us! It was in an off limits area and we had to take the shot through a gap in a barrier.
2 thoughts on “How To Guide for Visiting Capuchinas Church and Convent”
Heck of a site! The angel statue is amazing.
We though so too. That picture wouldn’t have happened if we didn’t have our zoom lenses with us! It was in an off limits area and we had to take the shot through a gap in a barrier.