Ex-Templo de San Agustín

The Ex-Templo de San Agustín on Plazuela Miguel Auza traces a more turbulent history than most colonial churches in Zacatecas. The Augustinian order arrived in the city around 1575, and after an incomplete first attempt, construction of the present church ran from 1613 until its consecration in 1772, producing what was reportedly one of the city's most richly carved baroque facades. That facade did not survive intact: during the nineteenth-century anticlerical period the building was secularized and used as a cantina and Masonic lodge, and in 1882 American Presbyterian missionaries who purchased the property demolished the ornate main facade, judged too explicitly Catholic, and replaced it with a plain white wall that remains in place today. A side portal and other carved elements survived the demolition, giving visitors a partial sense of what was lost. Restoration work carried out between 1948 and 1969 stabilized the structure and adapted it for public use, and the building now serves as a venue for free temporary art exhibitions rather than as an active church or museum with a permanent collection. A visit takes 20 to 30 minutes, largely dependent on the exhibition installed at the time. The contrast between the blank facade and the surviving carved side portal makes it a notable stop for visitors interested in the city's more contested religious and political history.