The Church of 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 In History of Mexico, the history of Mexico, (from Spanish language, Spanish: "The Reform"), or reform laws, refers to a pivotal set of laws, including a Federal Constitution of the United Mexican States of 1857, new constitution, that were ...

period in 1861. Currently, only the church remains of the convent complex. The church was built between 1685 and 1687 in

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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 place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

with the stipulation that the money be used to found a convent for the

Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...

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 politician, military commander, and lawyer who served as the 26th president of Mexico from 1858 until his death in office in 1872. A Zapotec peoples, Zapotec, he w ...

, 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 Tezontle () is a porous, highly oxidized, volcanic rock used extensively in construction in Mexico. It is usually reddish in color due to iron oxide. Tezontle is a well-cemented, agglomeritic and scoriaceous rock. Uses Construction Tezontle can ...

a reddish, porous volcanic rock. The decoration of the main façade of the church is what is called a "discreet" expression of the

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 Filigree (also less commonly spelled ''filagree'', and formerly written ''filigrann'' or ''filigrene'') is a form of intricate metalwork used in jewellery and other small forms of metalwork. In jewellery, it is usually of gold and silver, m ...

done by

silversmith A silversmith is a metalworker who crafts objects from silver. The terms ''silversmith'' and ''goldsmith'' are not exact synonyms, as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are (or were, at least) largely the same but differed in that t ...

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 (), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe (), is a Catholic Church, Catholic Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with four Marian apparitions to Juan Diego and one to his uncle, J ...

. 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.

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

Description

See also

References