The Convent of Santa Inés was a convent in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

from 1600 to 1861, later separated into the present day

Church of Santa Inés The Church of Santa Inés is a church located at 26 Moneda Street, just northeast of the Zócalo, Mexico City, Mexico. The building, formerly part of the Convent of Santa Inés, is considered to be a mix of styles between Mexican Baroque architec ...

and José Luis Cuevas Museum, located just off the Zócalo within the Historic center of Mexico City.

History

The convent was founded in 1600 by Don Diego Caballero and his wife Doña Inés de Velasco. Their patronage was funded by their ownership of the largest sugar cane processing operation in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

. The convent was originally built to accommodate 33 nuns, equal to the number of years

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

spent on earth. In colonial times, it also took in Spanish orphans who did not have a dowry. In return, these orphans were required to pray an hour a day for their benefactors. The complex suffered damage in 1624 as a result of flooding and again in 1639 due to a fire. In 1710, its single tower was built, which was high enough to be seen from the main plaza of town. Towards the end of the 18th century, its ceiling was rotten, and the church and tower were cracked. The complex was repaired under the patronage of the Marquis of La Cadena. The convent existed until 1861, when due to the Nationalization of Church Property Act, all covents and monasteries in the country were disbanded. The nuns here were moved first to

Santa Teresa La Antigua Santa Teresa la Antigua is a former convent located in the historic center of Mexico City on Licenciado Primo de Verdad #6 just northeast of the city's main plaza. The complex ceased to be a convent in the latter part of the 19th century and ha ...

then later to Santa Catalina de Siena. The tower was demolished, and the church and convent were separated with the convent’s residence portion being sold into private hands due to the nationalization of church property at that time. The convent and

were declared a national monument in 1932, but it remained private property as tenements until the 1980s, when José Luis Cuevas bought the property with the intention to restoring it and establishing the current museum dedicated to his art and art of contemporary Latin America.

References

{{Historic buildings of Mexico City Centro 1660 establishments in New Spain 1860s disestablishments in Mexico 1861 disestablishments Former convents in Mexico City Historic center of Mexico City

History

See also

References