Antigua’s Museo de la Semana Santa is open outside Lent, in a restored 17th-century building of the old Concepción convent, known as Sor Juana de Maldonado’s, at 4a Calle Oriente No. 45; foreign visitors pay Q40, and the safe plan is a weekday morning, because the published weekend hours do not agree.
In short: CNPAG, the council that protects Antigua, restored the building from 2007 with a donation from Taiwan and turned it into a museum of Holy Week and popular traditions and a cultural centre. Tariffs per person: Q5 nationals, Q15 Central Americans, Q20 foreign students, Q40 foreign tourists. Weekday hours start at 9:00 in every listing; Saturday is 9:00-13:00 in one, Sunday is open in one and closed in another. Read 10 November 2026.
Hours: what each publisher prints
| Publisher | Monday to Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNPAG, Servicios (undated) | 9:00 to 17:00 | 9:00 to 17:00 | 9:00 to 17:00 |
| Ministry of Culture, SIC directory (page edited 30 April 2025) | 9:00 to 16:00 | 9:00 to 13:00 | Closed |
| AMG-ICOM Guatemala museum directory (secondary) | 9:00 to 17:00 | Not listed | Not listed |
| Guatemala.com profile, 6 December 2017 (secondary) | 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Not listed | Not listed |
All read 10 November 2026. CNPAG’s year-round closures apply: 1 January, 1 November, 24 and 25 December and 31 December. The only window every source supports is a weekday between 9:00 and 16:00. CNPAG’s PBX is (502) 78734646; SIC lists a separate museum number, 7882-4789, and the e-mail administrador@cnpag.com.
Where it is
AMG-ICOM and Guatemala.com give 4a Calle Oriente No. 45, and Guatemala.com places it in Barrio de la Concepción, the neighbourhood the government newspaper Diario de Centro América also names for the museum. The SIC contact block prints a different line, 45 Callejón a Puente de Chipilapa. CNPAG’s own office address, at Capuchinas (2ª Avenida Norte and 2ª Calle Oriente), is not the museum.
What the museum is for
The Ministry of Culture’s SIC entry calls it a museum specialised in the traditions and folklore of Holy Week, whose aim is to show a historical journey through Guatemala’s traditions and to exhibit colonial architectural and decorative elements. CNPAG’s museum page adds that the new use was meant to mix tangible and intangible heritage and show the syncretism in the traditions of the department and of Guatemala, and that the building also serves Antigua as a cultural centre.
Neither CNPAG nor SIC publishes a room-by-room inventory, so no source here promises a particular float, image or carpet on display. The most specific description is older: a Guatemala.com profile of December 2017 lists an exhibition hall, a conference room and an interactive area for learning to make carpets, and says the museum is also known as the Museo de las Tradiciones de Semana Santa.
The cultural-centre side is documented. Diario de Centro América reported on 8 May 2025 that the museum would host Luz de Semana Santa, photographs of Holy Week by 11 Guatemalan photographers of the Hermandad de la Luz collective, curated by Raúl Touzon, opening on Friday 9 May at 17:00 with free entry and running for a month. It was a one-month show, an example of the programme the building hosts rather than something to expect today.
If your aim is the living tradition rather than the museum, the processions and carpets themselves are covered in our Lent processions in Antigua and Semana Santa in Guatemala guides, and rooms for next year in Holy Week 2027 lodging in Antigua.
The building: Sor Juana de Maldonado’s convent
CNPAG describes the museum’s home as a 17th-century building, popularly called the Convento Sor Juana de Maldonado, that formed part of the Convento de la Limpia e Inmaculada Concepción. Guatemala.com’s 2017 profile adds that the Concepción order was founded in Guatemala in 1578 by women from Mexico and was the country’s first institution for women religious.
Sor Juana de Maldonado y Paz, after whom the building is named, was born in Santiago de Guatemala in 1598, the daughter of Concepción de Quintanilla and Juan de Maldonado y Paz, a judge (oidor) of the Audiencia. CNPAG says she entered the Concepción convent very young and professed as Sor Juana de la Concepción on 27 December 1619; she died in 1666. Her beauty, talent and privileged position, CNPAG writes, made her the centre of envy, intrigue and scandal, and her very existence was doubted for years. Thomas Gage was the first to mention her, in the 17th century, describing a nun living in luxury in her rooms at the Concepción; later research by Joaquín Pardo, Ricardo Toledo Palomo, Mariano López Mayorical and Luz Méndez de la Vega, among others, has clarified some of his claims.
CNPAG dates the restoration to 2007, funded by a donation from the government of Taiwan and carried out by the council. Its stated objectives were conservation, restoration and reciclaje, the reuse of the convent.
Tickets and rules
CNPAG’s services page, undated and read 10 November 2026, charges per person Q.5.00 for national tourists, Q.15.00 for Central American tourists, Q.20.00 for foreign students and Q.40.00 for foreign tourists, and SIC and AMG-ICOM print the same four amounts for this museum. CNPAG says it is not currently granting fee exemptions. Alcohol, pets, firearms, bladed weapons and physical exercise are not allowed. Guatemala.com’s 2017 figure of Q5 predates these listings.
For more religious art in town, see the Museo del Santo Hermano Pedro at San Francisco; for the convent museum with weekday hours across town, Capuchinas; for the full list, things to do in Antigua.
Sources
- CNPAG: Servicios, undated monument list, hours, closures, tariff and rules; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Museos, Sor Juana de Maldonado convent history, restoration and purpose; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Contacto, telephone and office hours; read 10 November 2026.
- Ministry of Culture, SIC: Museo de la Semana Santa, description, hours, tariff and contact; read 10 November 2026.
- AMG-ICOM Guatemala: Museo de la Semana Santa, secondary museum directory; read 10 November 2026.
- Diario de Centro América: Fotógrafos captaron con su lente la Semana Santa, 8 May 2025; read 10 November 2026.
- Guatemala.com: Museo Sor Juana de Maldonado en Antigua Guatemala, secondary profile, 6 December 2017; read 10 November 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Antigua's Holy Week museum: where is it, what does it show, fee and hours?
The Museo de la Semana Santa occupies part of the old Concepción convent, known as Sor Juana de Maldonado’s, at 4a Calle Oriente No. 45 in Barrio La Concepción. It shows Holy Week traditions and folklore. Foreigners pay Q40, nationals Q5. Every listing agrees it opens Monday to Friday from 9:00; weekend hours differ by source. Read 10 November 2026.
Is the Holy Week museum open on Saturday or Sunday?
The sources disagree. CNPAG’s services page includes it in its Monday-to-Sunday, 9:00-17:00 monument schedule; the Ministry of Culture’s SIC directory gives Saturday 9:00-13:00 and Sunday closed; the AMG-ICOM directory gives Monday to Friday only. A weekday visit is the one every listing supports.
Who was Sor Juana de Maldonado?
A nun and poet of the Concepción order, born in Santiago de Guatemala in 1598 and died in 1666, according to CNPAG. She professed as Sor Juana de la Concepción on 27 December 1619. Thomas Gage was the first to write about her, in the 17th century.
Can I see the museum outside Lent?
Yes. It is a permanent museum on CNPAG’s year-round visiting list, closed only on 1 January, 1 November, 24, 25 and 31 December. CNPAG also describes it as a cultural centre that hosts exhibitions.
Does the museum have a carpet-making area?
A Guatemala.com profile from December 2017 mentions an interactive area for learning to make carpets, an exhibition room and a conference room. The CNPAG, SIC and AMG-ICOM museum listings read on 10 November 2026 do not mention it; ask at the door.
How much does the Holy Week museum cost?
Per person: Q5 for nationals, Q15 for Central Americans, Q20 for foreign students and Q40 for foreign tourists, the same in CNPAG’s services page, SIC and AMG-ICOM (read 10 November 2026).
