28 Mar 6 religious jewels in Guadalajara

In a city full of colors, flavors, music and joy like Guadalajara, you can find strong religious roots, you just need to take a walk around the center to discover buildings that show their architectural beauty and tradition.

During Holy Week, special ceremonies and traditional activities take place in Catholic temples to commemorate the passion, death and resurrection of Christ. However, at any time of year you can appreciate the beauty of the city’s religious sites. To start, we recommend these six:

The star, Guadalajara Cathedral
The Cathedral has a particular beauty because it has survived earthquakes and fires. It has two iconic 65-meter-high towers and interesting details about its history. It also has incredible lighting at night and an incredible mapping is projected on its façade. It is located on the pedestrian promenade of Av. Mayor where tourists and families gather to share, enjoy ice cream or skis and it is where we believe that any church route should begin.

Santa Monica and its beauty
Built by the Jesuit order, this temple was completed in 1733, it has a beautiful baroque style façade and stands out for its architectural beauty.

The Expiatory and its unique clock
The Expiatory Temple is considered the greatest work of neo-Gothic style in Mexico, in it you can see 3 impressive naves with a clear Italian neo-Gothic style on the outside and French on the inside.

This beautiful building had a long construction, it began in 1897 and was inaugurated until 1931.

One of the most striking features of the Expiatory Temple is its German-made clock, a gift from Don Pablo Horn in 1969 to the city and which has four faces that light up every night to show the time. It has a musical carillon in which figures of the twelve apostles of Jesus travel while the bells ring, a spectacle for children and adults alike!

The Temple of San Agustín by Pedro del Toro
This building was ordered to be built by Pedro del Toro and now has the title of historical monument by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) for its preservation. Formerly, attached to the church was the Convent of San Agustín and Santa Mónica, which today is the School of Music of the University of Guadalajara, you will recognize it for its baroque style, a work that also took a while to complete, they began to build it in 1574 and they finished in 1674.

Temple of Carmen
The Templo del Carmen was founded in the 17th century and is neoclassical in style. In its sober, but beautiful interior, there are paintings of sacred art. Its façade entirely made of quarry was modified to a neoclassical style, however, on the outskirts of the church, remains of the previous ornamentation are still preserved, such as: the shield of the Order of the Carmelites, the cross that crowns it and the three stars , the star of the base, the prophet Elijah and the prophet Elisha.

Ex-Convento del Carmen, looking to the past
The Ex Convento del Carmen was a men’s cloister attached to the Temple of Carmen, erected between 1687 and 1690 on the outskirts of Guadalajara by the Order of the Discalced Carmelites.

It became one of the most economically rich spaces for its time, but it was destroyed, leaving only the part that we can see today occupied by offices. Some of its areas are used as auditoriums for cultural and social events as well as plays and temporary exhibitions.

We recommend you follow the page Facebook Pasión de Analco Semana Santa y Pascua Celebración de Fe y Tradición, where you can find the most up-to-date information about Holy Week celebrations in Guadalajara.