The Church of San Bernardo ( es, link=no, Iglesia de San Bernardo) stands at the corner of Avenida 20 de Noviembre and Venustiano Carranza Street just south of the
Zocalo or main plaza of Mexico City. It was part of a convent of the same name that was founded in 1636, but was closed along with all convents and monasteries during the
La Reforma
''La Reforma'' ( en, The Reform), refers to a pivotal set of laws, including a new constitution, that were enacted in Mexico during the 1850s after the Plan of Ayutla overthrew the dictatorship of Santa Anna. They were intended as modernizing m ...
period in 1861. Currently, only the church remains of the convent complex.
The church was built between 1685 and 1687
in
Baroque style.
Description
The church was part of a convent of the same name which was sponsored by
Juan Marquez de Orozco, a merchant who left his fortune to the
Church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
with the stipulation that the money be used to found a convent for the
Cistercian Order.
After Orozo's death,
José Retes de Largacha, Marquis of San Jorge, became the convent's benefactor, purchasing the land for the church and convent. .
The convent was founded in 1636, by three of Orozco's sisters and two other nuns, all from the Convent of Regina Coeli. .
The church was consecrated in 1690. In the 18th century,
Miguel de Berrio y Saldivar, Count of San Mateo Valparaiso, took charge of repair work, leading to the use of geometrically-cut tezontle stone. The church was rededicated in 1777 .
During the Reform period under
Benito Juárez
Benito Pablo Juárez García (; 21 March 1806 – 18 July 1872) was a Mexican liberal politician and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. As a Zapotec, he was the first indigenous pre ...
, all monasteries and convents were closed and this convent was demolished, except for the church. Its demolition paved the way of the opening of the street that would become 20 de Noviembre.
Much of the façade's surface is covered in
tezontle a reddish, porous volcanic rock.
The decoration of the main façade of the church is what is called a "discreet" expression of the
Baroque style, meaning not all of the surface is covered in decoration, but the sections which do have them are done in that style. The work done on this church has been compared to the
filigree done by
silversmith
A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary grea ...
s. Where the Baroque style really stands out is the profusion of decoration surrounding the niches; one of which holds an image of
Saint Bernard and the other a figure of the
Virgin of Guadalupe
Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...
. This figure used to be on the opposite side of the church/convent, but when it was dismantled, it was moved here. The main architect of the church was
Juan de Zepeda .
On the exterior is a bronze plaque that reads "Las Religiosas Concepcionistas del Convento del Dulcísimo Nombre de María del Glorioso San Bernardo. Fundado el 30 III 1636 in este Lugar, Celebramos 350 años de su fundación, 1986"
The Church's interior has a neo-classic altar.
See also
*
List of colonial churches in Mexico City
References
{{Coord, 19, 25, 50.81, N, 99, 8, 1.88, W, region:MX, display=title
1630s in Mexico
1636 establishments in New Spain
17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Mexico
Baroque church buildings in Mexico
Historic center of Mexico City
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1687
Roman Catholic churches in Mexico City
Spanish Colonial architecture in Mexico