The San Gabriel Franciscan Convent or San Gabriel Friary is a church and friary in Cholula, Metropolitan area of

Puebla City Puebla de Zaragoza (; ; ), formally Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, formerly Puebla de los Ángeles during colonial times, or known simply as Puebla, is the seat of Puebla Municipality. It is the capital and largest city of the state of Puebla, and t ...

, Mexico.

Description and history

The San Gabriel church and friary was established in 1529 by the Order of Friar Minors, OFM,

Franciscans The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor being the largest conte ...

, after destroying the temple to Quetzalcoatl with evangelization as its initial purpose. The current complex was built in the 1540s, beginning with the Capilla Real in 1540. The main church was begun in 1549, with the first stone laid by Martín de Hojacastro, who would become the third bishop of Puebla. There is also a third chapel by the name of the Capilla de la Tercera Orden and a cloister. The friary is dedicated to the

Archangel Gabriel In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...

and is one of the largest Franciscan friaries in Mexico. CapillaReal08

The exterior is partially Gothic. The complex is surrounded by a wall with pointed

merlon A merlon is the solid, upright section of a battlement (a crenellated parapet) in medieval architecture or fortifications. Merlons are sometimes pierced by narrow, vertical embrasures, or tooth-like slits designed for observation and fire. The sp ...

s which separates it from the main plaza of the city. The atrium is very large, with most of the space located in front of the two chapels. There are two portals on the west atrium wall, one that leads into the main atrium space and chapels, used for the indigenous population in the very early colonial period and the other directly in front of the main church. In three corners of the atrium, there are chapels, called "capillas posas", with pinnacle roofs and simple arches which are closed off by railings. These were used for outdoor processions. The atrium cross was sculpted in 1668 and is identical to that in the atrium of the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios sanctuary. The façade of the main church is smooth and its corners are reinforced with diagonal

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient (typically Gothic) buildings, as a means of providing support to act ...

es. This façade has been altered over time with the additions of a

bell gable The bell gable (, , ) is an architectural element crowning the upper end of the wall of church buildings, usually in lieu of a church tower. It consists of a gable end in stone, with small hollow semi-circular arches where the church bells are ...

and a

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 ...

tower. The tower contains arched windows, columns and a small dome topped by an iron cross. The main portal is sculpted in sandstone in Renaissance style. The main doors are of wood and contain metal studs with different designs. The north portal has richer ornamentation. The bell tower suffered some damage in the September, 2017 earthquake. 2CenterfromNorthLeftCapillaReal

The church has one long nave, which is divided into various sections and covered by

Gothic style Gothic architecture is an architectural style that was prevalent in Europe from the late 12th to the 16th century, during the High and Late Middle Ages, surviving into the 17th and 18th centuries in some areas. It evolved from Romanesque ar ...

vaults and

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

. The interior has a Latin cross layout, with Gothic ribs on the vaults and arched window openings. It conserves a number of oil paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries. The

altarpiece An altarpiece is a painting or sculpture, including relief, of religious subject matter made for placing at the back of or behind the altar of a Christian church. Though most commonly used for a single work of art such as a painting or sculpture, ...

s are Neoclassical, made of wood and plaster, painted white and decorated in gold leaf. The main altar dates from 1897 and is dedicated to the Virgin of the Remedies. The Capilla Real (Royal Chapel) is also called the Capilla de Naturales (Indigenous Chapel). It is located on the north end of the friary complex, behind the large atrium area. The chapel never received any kind of royal recognition, but the name, "Capilla Real" is thought to have come from area dedicated to the Virgin of the Remedies, the patron of Cholula. The first chapel here was built in 1540, but the current structure dates from the 17th century, with the interior redone in 1947. The façade has some Baroque elements, with its main entrance marked by a simple arch flanked by

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (, ''Korinthiakós rythmós''; ) is the last developed and most ornate of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order, which was the earliest, ...

and fluted

pilaster In architecture, a pilaster is both a load-bearing section of thickened wall or column integrated into a wall, and a purely decorative element in classical architecture which gives the appearance of a supporting column and articulates an ext ...

s The choral window is flanked by

Ionic columns The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite ...

. The crest is a

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

with a flutter. What makes this chapel unique is that its construction is similar to a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

, with forty nine cupolas, supported by twelve columns and twenty four octagonal pilasters. The interior is divided into seven

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

s, and there are chapels on the two sides with their entrances supported by twelve of the structure's pilasters. This interior is not decorated, with murals or gold leaf like the main church or the Tercera Orden chapel; rather the walls are plain and the main altar is between the center of the structure and the back wall, leaving an area free. This back area contains three large paintings depicting the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The holy water font dates from the 16th century. The base and cup are sculpted from one piece of stone. The base is decorated with

acanthus leaves The acanthus () is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration in the architectural tradition emanating from Greece and Rome. Architecture In architecture, an ornament may be carved into stone or wood to resemble ...

, other flowers and leaves and a simple molding which imitates the cord Franciscans use to tie over their habits. The Capilla de la Tercera Orden (Chapel of the Third Order) is a much smaller chapel and located between the Capilla Real and the main church, also fronted by the large atrium area. The façade has a Baroque portal with

Solomonic column The Solomonic column, also called barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian or Composite ...

s. Inside, there is gold ornamentation and seven large 18th and 19th century paintings. In the

pendentive In architecture, a pendentive is a constructional device permitting the placing of a circular dome over a square room or of an elliptical dome over a rectangular room. The pendentives, which are triangular segments of a sphere, taper to point ...

s of the cupolas there are more paintings of various important Franciscans. The altars are Neoclassical in white and gold, and two large windows were opened on either side of the main altar to let in more light. The

cloister A cloister (from Latin , "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open Arcade (architecture), arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle (architecture), quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cat ...

area of the complex still functions as a friary and inhabited by about ten Franciscan friars who run a large K-12 school on the complex as well as many other pastoral as well as justice, peace and respect for creation activities. For this reason, it is not open to the public. This friary also houses the Vocation Office to help young men from the States of Guerrero, Mexico, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz be part of a discernment process to see if they are being called to be Franciscan friars. The original cloister contains a number of murals similar to those at the former friary of

Huejotzingo Huejotzingo () is a small city and municipalities of Puebla, municipality located just northwest of the Puebla, Puebla, city of Puebla, in central Mexico. The settlement's history dates back to the pre-Hispanic period, when it was a dominion, with ...

. The upper floor has one called the Mass of Saint Gregory and the ground floor contains

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

s with scenes from the life of

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone ( 1181 – 3 October 1226), known as Francis of Assisi, was an Italians, Italian Mysticism, mystic, poet and Friar, Catholic friar who founded the religious order of the Franciscans. Inspired to lead a Chris ...

, along with portraits of a number of Franciscan friars. In 1986, an annex to the cloister area was converted into Franciscan Library in cooperation with the Universidad de las Americas, just five minutes away. The friars were originally opposed to the project, as the friary likely sits on the remains of the Quetzalcoatl Temple, and they were concerned about being forced out. In the end, the Franciscans co-sponsored the library with the university. This library contains more than 25,000 volumes published between the 16th and the 19th centuries. One of the foremost Franciscan history scholars of Latin America, Fray Francisco Morales, OFM resides in the friary and directs the Franciscan Library.

References

External links

* {{Cholula, Puebla Buildings and structures completed in 1549 Cholula, Puebla Churches in Puebla Monasteries in Mexico

Description and history

See also

References

External links