The Old Church in Ahuacatlan

There is a very old church in this town, Templo de San Francisco de Asís, that dates from the 17th century. We have been curious about it because part of it looks new while other parts are crumbling. There is very little written about it on the internet.

While I was looking at an old photo of the church in a restaurant, a lady explained in Spanish the history of the church. I was confused by what she told me and figured that I just didn’t understand her Spanish. But today, a n interesting man who speaks very well in English told me the story of the church and I had totally understood the lady!

The original temple was built by the Franciscans out of adobe but over the years, the temple broke down. The nearby river flooded and weakened the foundation, the nearby volcano erupted and the tremors destroyed the roof and walls. People couldn’t use it so it was abandoned.

A new temple built by the Freemasons was built across the river. That temple no longer exists but a man who bought the property and was going to put a house on it, dug down and accidentally found a cemetery as well as the foundations of a church. Now that building is a hotel and it houses artifacts found on the site. The owner was thrilled to be able to tell us about their findings.

After years of neglect and the partial collapse of the church roof on several occasions, the old church underwent major reconstruction between 1929 and 1935, during which the church was restored and re-roofed. And that’s the church we see today.

On the top of the church there is a clock that was donated by President Álvaro Obregón in around 1924.Leggi altro