Templo de la Compañía (Tumba de la China Poblana)

The Templo de la Compañía, formally the Templo del Espíritu Santo, stands at the corner of 4 Sur and Av. Palafox y Mendoza in the historic center of Puebla de Zaragoza and was built by the Jesuit order beginning in the 17th century as part of their college complex, with construction and decoration continuing into the 18th century following the architectural conventions of Jesuit Baroque churches across New Spain. Its principal claim to historical significance lies in the crypt beneath the church, which holds the tomb of Mirra, later baptized Catarina de San Juan, a woman of South or Southeast Asian origin brought to Puebla via the Manila Galleon trade route in the early 17th century as an enslaved servant. Her adopted regional dress, blending Asian textiles with local indigenous and Spanish elements, became the basis for the China Poblana costume now recognized as a symbol of traditional Mexican dress. The church's Baroque facade in carved grey stone and its single bell tower reflect the more restrained exterior style typical of Jesuit institutional buildings compared to the more heavily ornamented Dominican and Franciscan churches nearby. Interior retablos, largely rebuilt after the Jesuit order's 1767 expulsion from Spanish territories interrupted the original decorative program, combine surviving 17th-century elements with later additions. Following the Society of Jesus's expulsion, the attached college buildings passed through various institutional uses, while the church itself continued as an active parish. Restoration by INAH and the parish has concentrated on the crypt and facade stonework, preserving the tomb of Catarina de San Juan as the building's principal point of historical interest for visitors.