The Church and Ex Convent of San Agustín

This religious community was renowned for its educational activities. They opened a school of humanities where they taught subjects ranging from the alphabet and art to theology. Bishop Fernando de Albuquerque donated the property where the monks built their convent.

In 1862, soon after the secularization decree, the federal government gave the Convent of San Agustín to the Institute of Sciences and Arts. In 1893 Bishop Eulogio Gillow acquired the convent and founded the “Casa de Cuna,” a child-welfare institution still in operation today.

The main altarpiece, located in the apse, is the central motif of the interior. It is in the Solomonic Baroque style, finished in carved wood and covered in laminated gold. It is made up of five bodies and three streets, determined by cornices and Solomonic columns, among which there are oil paintings and niches with polychrome sculptures. The main sculpture is that of San Agustín, located in the center of the altarpiece. Above and to the sides are the sculptures of San Alipio, Santo Tomás de Villanueva, San Juan de Sahagún and San Fulgencio Obispo, important figures related to the order of the founder. Below San Agustín, there is an oil painting representing the Holy Trinity crowning the Virgin in heaven; to its sides are the sculptures of the Virgin's parents, San Joaquín and Santa Ana. All the other paintings represent scenes from the life of San Agustín.

How to get:
It is located one block east of the Central Plaza (zócalo) of the city of Oaxaca, on the corner formed by the streets of Guerrero and Armenta y López and which currently houses the Casa de Cuna school in the facilities of what was Convent.

Location map

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