San Francisco the Great Sanctuary

The Great Sanctuary of San Francisco in Antigua Guatemala stands out by its immense, vine-covered facade of thick, yellow-washed masonry. Built in the sixteenth century, this massive complex served as the headquarters for the Franciscan order in Central America. Peter of Saint Joseph Betancur, a Spanish missionary who arrived in the mid-seventeenth century, spent his final years here. He founded an order to care for the poor, and his remains rest inside a chapel within the walls.