The Church and Convent of La Merced is a Catholic church located in the city of Antigua Guatemala in Guatemala. The architect Juan de Dios Estrada was in charge of its construction from 1749. The church was inaugurated in 1767.
Description
In Guatemalan Churrigueresque style, this church has two bell-towers. On the façade of the church, in its upper part, there is a sculpture of St. Peter Nolasco, founder of the Mercedarian Order. Below appears Virgin of Mercy and the Mercedarian shield. The stucco and brick sculptures of St. Raymond Nonnatus and St. Pedro Armengol are found on the left side of the façade. St. Peter Pascual and St. Mary de Cervellione, the first Mercedarian nun, are on the right side.
The “Fountain of los Pescados”, dates from the 18th century; At twenty-seven meters in diameter, it is one of the largest colonial fountains in Latin America. The fountain is shaped like a water lily, a very common flower in the Guatemalan lowlands, especially in lakes and lagoons. In the symbolism of the ancient Mayan peoples, it is associated with creation: a god created a water lily from which the rest of the gods came.
History
Friar Marcos Dardón arrived in Central America with the Spanish conquistadors and actively participated in the future province of The Mercy of Guatemala, created shortly after his death. The bishop of the diocese, Francisco Marroquín, brought it with him to Guatemala around 1537. The Mercedarians settled in the Almolonga Valley and five years later, after the landslide of the Volcán de Agua Volcano, they moved to the Panchoy Valley. At that time, Friar Marcos was in the province of Chiapas, holding the position of protector of the Indians. And some time later, in 1546, he went to Guatemala, where he successively held the positions of commander of the convent of the city and provincial vicar.
Bishop Francisco Marroquín stated that the Mercedarians were the first to settle and persevere in Guatemala City. But their field of apostolate was extended outside the city itself, through the lands that in the present make up the Guatemalan departments of Quetzaltenango, San Marcos and Huehuetenango, where they had a large number of doctrines, which multiplied more during the last years of the 16th century or early 18th century.
Around 1550, at the request of the lawyer López Cerrato, president of the Audiencia, Friar Marcos promoted the foundation of the houses of Gracia de Dios, Tencoa and Valladolid of Comayagua; the three in the Honduran region, so that their religious were in charge of the doctrine of the natives. The first two were founded by Friar Nicolás del Valle, who in 1565 presented a memorial to the Council of the Indies, requesting help for the three convents, where the Mercedarians, "who preach the holy gospel", have not enjoyed royal protection.
With nuclei of convents, in 1561 the Province of Our Lady of the Mercy of Guatemala was founded, which included, in addition to Guatemala and Honduras, the regions of San Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and, for some years, until it was erected in independent province, also the region of Mexico.
In 1565 the Mercedarian province of the Presentation of Guatemala was created. During the first part of the 17th century they were in charge of the evangelization of some towns around the city of Santiago, which over time became part of the city. The Mercedarians owned the "La Vega" sugar mill and the "Nuestra Señora del Buen Suceso de Pechar" sugar mill; they also built the San Gerónimo School, but it was confiscated in 1763 for not having a royal license and was used as the Royal Customs.
In 1761, the new captain general, Alonso Fernández de Heredia, who was field marshal of the royal armies and had already been governor of Nicaragua, Comayagua, Florida and Yucatán, arrived in Santiago de los Caballeros de Guatemala; the new ruler donated four thousand pesos for the construction of the Iglesia de la Merced. The church was dedicated in 1767, just six years before the Santa Marta Earthquakes, which it resisted thanks to the new construction techniques used. On the façade of the church, in its upper part, there is a sculpture of St. Peter Nolasco, founder of the Mercedarian Order. Below appears Virgin of Mercy and the Mercedarian shield. The stucco and brick sculptures of the Mercedarian saints San Ramón Nonato and San Pedro Armengol are found on the left side of the façade. St. Peter Pascual and St. Mary de Cervellione, the first Mercedarian nun, are on the right side.
Bourbon reforms
In 1754, by virtue of a Royal Decree part of the Bourbon Reforms, all the parishes of the regular orders were transferred to the secular clergy.