San Francisco Church - Part 1

Over the holidays I went to Santiago, the capitol of the country I'm living in. There I did loads of stuff (another post on that later) and one of my many adventures was to go visit one of my favourite churches, the San Francisco Church. It's construction dates back to the 1500 and is currently one of the oldest architectural monuments in the country.  Currently the convent has been turned into a museum (which I sadly wasn't able to visit due to the lack of time and money). The main structure was made of adobe, but since the many earthquakes it has been reconstructed with white stone, extracted from the nearby hills by the indigenous people. 

                      

*   *   *

I don't even know how to begin talking about everything that I love about this church. The paintings on the ceiling, the architecture, the floor, the shrines, the details; I could go on and on. But what I most like about this church is the atmosphere. The church is actually really really dark, and you can see that from the photos even though there were taken near noon on a perfectly sunny day. Once you enter the church, it's like you enter into this new world. The temperature drops, the noise of the city is suddenly muted... even the air is different. You can suddenly hear every footstep, every breath. Everyone is silent and lost inside this haven. It's as if the outside world comes to a stop. Even though I myself am not catholic, when I lived in the city a few years back I would often come here to just sit and think. Reflect on my life, what I was doing, what was to come. I would also observe the other people, many would come and sit down just like me, lost in thought. Some would cry, some whispered prayers under their breath, others were in complete silence.
I don't think I could possibly put to words what this place means to me, I only have these photos to share with you.

Blessed be,
~Rose

(Note: Part 2)