Yes, you can walk in: the Spanish Cooperation training centre (CFCE Antigua) that occupies the former Jesuit college of the Compañía de Jesús says it is open every day of the week from 9:00 to 18:00, runs a public cultural programme, and gives guided tours of the building on request.
In short: Enter on 6ª avenida Norte between 3ª and 4ª calle Poniente, a block from Parque Central. Go for exhibitions, film, concerts or talks, or ask ahead for a guided visit on the building’s history and restoration. Neither the operator nor the Ministry of Culture prints an admission price or fixed tour times, so call (+502) 7932 3838 before planning around a specific activity.
Hours, address and who to contact
CFCE Antigua’s contact page, read 10 November 2026, gives the address as the Antiguo Colegio de la Compañía de Jesús, 6ª avenida Norte between 3ª and 4ª calle Poniente, 03001 La Antigua Guatemala, one block from Parque Central, and the hours as every day of the week, 9:00 to 18:00. A Guatemala.com report updated 1 August 2024 (secondary) gives the same Monday-to-Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. window for the centre and its museum and places it one block from the Calle del Arco.
| For | Contact published by CFCE Antigua |
|---|---|
| General line | (+502) 7932 3838 |
| Cultural programme and event proposals | culturales.antigua@aecid.es |
| Library and documentation centre | biblioteca1.antigua@aecid.es |
| Training courses | formcontenidos.antigua@aecid.es |
| Communication | comunicacion.antigua@aecid.es |
| Management | conocimiento.antigua@aecid.es |
The Ministry of Culture’s SIC entry lists the same phone (79323838) and the culturales.antigua@aecid.es address, though it names the occupant Centro de Investigaciones de la Cooperación Española; the operator’s own name is Centro de Formación.
What is on: the cultural programme
The centre’s cultural-area page groups its programme into six strands: Artes escénicas (theatre and dance), Espacio de arte (exhibitions), Panorama musical (concerts and festivals), Rincón literario y científico (literature and science forums), Cine (screenings and themed film cycles) and Mininos, library and cultural activities for children. It says the art programme dates from the start, because the agreement under which the municipality handed the building to Spain’s development agency, AECID, provided for cultural events. Artists who want to bring an activity are asked to send a proposal form to the cultural area.
CFCE Antigua’s agenda-detail page (checked 10 November 2026) loaded only the site’s menus, not an event list; for what is on during your stay, call the centre or check the Facebook page it links from its site.
Inside the building
The facilities page describes the complex as the old Colegio de San Lucas and the church of the Compañía de Jesús, a 17th-century monumental ensemble of more than 13,600 m² restored through cooperation between Spain and Guatemala. It lists three cloisters, courtyards, training rooms, cultural spaces, an assembly hall, a cinema room, meeting rooms, dining rooms, a cafeteria and exhibition areas, plus open spaces with orchards and colonial corridors. Walls, vaults and roofs were consolidated with traditional and contemporary techniques under criteria of historical respect and reversibility.
This is a working training centre: seminars, congresses and institutional meetings use the same rooms, so not every space will be open when you walk in. CFCE Antigua’s history page says that since its opening in August 1996 the centre has received almost 100,000 visitors a year, and that its guided visits, by prior request and for all audiences, explain the facilities, the architecture and the restoration work. The same page links a 3D historical reconstruction of the building.
Guatemala.com’s August 2024 report describes a museum inside the centre devoted to the history of the Colegio de San Lucas and the Compañía church, with old and modern photographs of the building, historic maps and information panels. Ask at the entrance whether the museum rooms are open on your day.
From Jesuit college to Spanish Cooperation centre
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1582 | Founding of the Colegio de la Compañía de Jesús in Santiago de los Caballeros | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| 1690 | Construction of the church and convent begins | SIC |
| Until 1767 | Up to twelve Jesuits lived in the block of a church and three cloisters; Philology, Philosophy and Rhetoric were taught until the order’s expulsion | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| 1773 | The Santa Marta earthquakes destroyed the church and part of the college | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| Until 1976 | What remained served for decades as a textile factory, a school and a market | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| 1979 | Included in Antigua’s World Heritage inscription; later housed a handicrafts market | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| 1992 | Spain committed to restore the building through AECID’s heritage preservation programme, with CNPAG approval | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| 1994 | Agreement with the Municipality of Antigua, owner of the building, ceding its use to AECID | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| August 1996 | The training centre opens | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| 1998 | A municipal workshop school (Escuela Taller) set up in the old college, later active in emergency work after Hurricane Mitch | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
| Since 2017 | Library refit, new roof, new electrical system, room accessibility for people with physical disabilities and lighting of the church façade | CFCE Antigua, Historia |
Sources read 10 November 2026: CFCE Antigua, Historia and SIC.
SIC adds that the Jesuit-run Colegio de San Lucas inside the complex was known for its academic level, especially in first letters and grammar, and lists Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán, Francisco Vásquez, Pedro de Betancourt and Rafael Landívar among its pupils.
The centre is one of three Spanish Cooperation units in Guatemala. In a press release of 7 June 2024 on Queen Letizia’s visit, which ended at the Antigua centre, Spain’s Foreign Ministry put the Centro de Formación’s team at 48 people.
Nearby
The convent of Santa Teresa de Jesús is tied to this building by a 1932 property exchange recorded by CNPAG; see Santa Teresa de Jesús ruins. For other cultural stops, see the MUNAG national art museum, the Casa Santo Domingo museums things to do in Antigua and our Festival de la Luz page.
Sources
- CFCE Antigua: Información y contacto, address, hours, contacts; read 10 November 2026.
- CFCE Antigua: Historia, history, visitor numbers, guided visits on request; read 10 November 2026.
- CFCE Antigua: Área cultural, programme strands; read 10 November 2026.
- CF La Antigua: Instalaciones, floor area, spaces, restoration criteria; read 10 November 2026.
- SIC, Ministry of Culture: Iglesia y Convento de la Compañía de Jesús, 1690 construction, Colegio de San Lucas, pupils, contact; read 10 November 2026.
- Ministerio de Asuntos Exteriores de España: Nota de prensa 031, 7 June 2024, Spanish Cooperation units and staff; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Proyectos, 1932 Santa Teresa property exchange; read 10 November 2026.
- Guatemala.com: Inauguraron nuevo museo del Centro de Formación, secondary, updated 1 August 2024; read 10 November 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can you go inside the Compañía de Jesús in Antigua (the Spanish Cooperation centre), and what is on there?
Yes. The Centro de Formación de la Cooperación Española (CFCE Antigua), which occupies the former Jesuit college, says it is open every day from 9:00 to 18:00. Its cultural programme covers theatre and dance, art exhibitions, concerts, literature and science talks, film screenings and children’s activities, and it gives guided visits of the building on prior request.
Where is the Compañía de Jesús?
On 6ª avenida Norte between 3ª and 4ª calle Poniente, one block from Parque Central, according to CFCE Antigua’s contact page.
How do I book a guided visit of the building?
CFCE Antigua’s history page says it runs guided visits for all audiences on prior request, covering the facilities, the architecture and the restoration. It does not print fixed tour times, so ask on (+502) 7932 3838; the cultural area answers at culturales.antigua@aecid.es.
Is there an entry fee?
CFCE Antigua does not publish an admission price on its contact, history or cultural-area pages (checked 10 November 2026). Ask the centre whether a specific event or tour carries a charge.
Who studied at the Jesuit college?
The Ministry of Culture’s SIC directory says the Colegio de San Lucas, run by the Jesuits inside the complex, counted Francisco Antonio de Fuentes y Guzmán, Francisco Vásquez, Pedro de Betancourt and Rafael Landívar among its pupils.
Is there a museum about the building?
Guatemala.com (a secondary source, updated 1 August 2024) reported the opening of a museum inside the centre on the history of the Colegio de San Lucas and the Compañía de Jesús church, with old and modern photographs, historic maps and information panels.
