Yes, you can go inside Santa Clara: CNPAG, the council that protects Antigua and administers the monument, opens the former convent of the Poor Clares at 2da. Avenida Sur No. 11 every day from 9:00 to 17:00, and a foreign tourist pays Q.40.00. Inside you walk the cloister, the church, the upper and lower choirs, the sacristy and the garden.
In short: Santa Clara was founded on 14 January 1700 by nuns from Puebla; its church opened on 11 August 1734. In the 1717 earthquake the community fled to Comalapa, and after the 1773 earthquakes it left Antigua for good. CNPAG has been restoring the complex since 2007-2008. Hours and the foreign-visitor fee come from CNPAG’s undated services page, read 10 November 2026; the full tariff by visitor category is on our Antigua ruins entry-fees page.
What you see inside
CNPAG’s monument-use page divides its Santa Clara photo galleries into five parts, the clearest published inventory of the complex:
| Part of the complex | As CNPAG labels it |
|---|---|
| Cloister | Claustro |
| Church | Templo |
| Upper and lower choir | Coro Alto y Bajo |
| Sacristy | Sacristia (printed without the accent) |
| Garden | Jadín (as printed; jardín) |
The same page links a downloadable plan of Santa Clara. GAIA, a private audio-guide service, describes the convent’s arches on its two levels and a broad garden with a carved-stone fountain in the central patio, and suggests an hour and a half for the visit; that is a secondary guide’s description, read 10 November 2026. GAIA also credits the Poor Clares with teaching local women to make Spanish dishes and sweets, which it calls an important part of Antigua’s culture.
From Puebla to Antigua: the foundation
The order itself goes back to 1212, when Clare of Assisi founded it with the help of Saint Francis, according to the description of the convent’s records held by the Archivo Histórico Arquidiocesano de Guatemala (published in Spain’s archive census, the Censo-Guía de Archivos). Guatemala’s convent took the title of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.
The archaeologist Jorge Enrique Cáceres, in a paper for the 2013 Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala published by the Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología in 2014, sets out the steps:
| Date | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1693 | The Franciscan order’s procurator at the Court obtained the licence to found the order in Santiago de Guatemala | Cáceres, citing the Archivo General de Centro América |
| December 1699 | Five Poor Clares arrived from Puebla de los Ángeles | Cáceres, citing Berlin (1950) |
| 5 January 1700 | The nuns, lodged at the Concepción convent, lost their novice mistress, Gerónima de la Asunción | Cáceres |
| 14 January 1700 | Formal foundation of the convent | Cáceres; archdiocesan archive description |
| Later | The community moved into its own house, adapted from one that had belonged to doña María Ventura de Arrivillaga | Archdiocesan archive description |
| 11 August 1734 | The convent church was inaugurated, paid for by Antonio de Echevers, president of the Real Audiencia | Archdiocesan archive description |
Cáceres also notes that the foundation money and the site came from the Arrivillaga family. An article in the Boletín de Monumentos Históricos of Mexico’s INAH (2017) gives six founding nuns rather than five; the two published counts differ.
Two earthquakes: 1717 and 1773
The earthquake of 29 September 1717, the feast of San Miguel, scattered Santiago’s nuns. Witness statements gathered by the city authorities and analysed by Rosa Helena Chinchilla in INAH’s Boletín de Monumentos Históricos place the Santa Clara community, described as barefoot (descalzas) Franciscans, in the town of Comalapa, about eight leagues from the city, while their convent stood empty. The same file records the master builder Porres judging Santa Clara one of the least damaged houses: he costed the repair of its church and convent at 500 pesos.
The 1773 earthquakes (the nuns’ letter dates them to 29 July) ended the community’s time in Antigua, about seventy years after the foundation. Cáceres quotes a letter kept in the archdiocesan archive in which the nuns say their church fell and what remained of the convent was left uninhabitable. With their prelates’ permission they moved to the Canales estate (the hacienda Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Canales, then owned by Mariano Arrivillaga), stayed there until 1776, lived from 1776 to 1795 in a provisional convent beside the Ermita church (the Cruz del Milagro) in the new capital, and opened their new convent there in 1795. The archive description adds that the institution was closed in 1874, when its papers passed to the Archbishop’s Palace.
Restoration: what CNPAG says it is doing
CNPAG’s project page for the Restauración del Conjunto Monumental de Santa Clara describes a building of great historical and artistic value that was severely deteriorated and at risk of collapse, its old walls exposed to weather and earthquakes. It lists the monument’s present uses as visits by national and foreign tourists, school groups studying the colonial period, and cultural, religious and social events.
The work covers the subsoil, floors, wall faces, wall tops, the church roof, the gardens and the lighting, preceded by archaeological investigation and analysis of materials and damage. The project sheet gives January 2007 as the start and 2022 as the planned end; its own narrative says work began in 2008 and that, once finished, the most-visited areas would pass to maintenance (floor and wall cleaning, gardens, electrics, doors and windows). The page does not say whether the 2022 milestone was met.
In December 2024 the Minister of Culture, Liwy Grazioso, and UNESCO’s representative in Guatemala led a technical visit to the Santa Clara church and the Capuchinas convent to close a subregional dialogue on the return and restitution of cultural property to Central America, the Ministry of Culture reported on 12 December 2024.
Visiting: hours, closures, rules
CNPAG’s services page, undated and read on 10 November 2026, gives 9:00 to 17:00, Monday to Sunday, closing only on 1 January, 1 November, 24 and 25 December and 31 December. It charges per person by visitor category (Q.40.00 for a foreign tourist) and is granting no fee exemptions. Alcohol, pets, firearms, bladed weapons and any physical exercise are not allowed inside. CNPAG’s telephone is PBX (502) 78734646; its offices, in the Capuchinas convent, work Monday to Friday, 7:30 to 16:00.
Professional photographers pay Q. 1000.00 per session (sessions 9:00 to 16:00) at CNPAG’s Treasury in Capuchinas; the receipt names one monument and one date. For receptions and other events, CNPAG’s events office takes requests at ext. 106 or eventoscnpag@gmail.com.
Two other convents on CNPAG’s visiting list have their own pages: Capuchinas, whose museum keeps weekday hours, and Santa Teresa de Jesús. For the rest of the city, see things to do in Antigua and, for recent tremors, earthquakes near Antigua.
Sources
- CNPAG: Servicios, undated monument list, hours, closures, tariff, rules and photography terms; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Uso de Monumentos, address, plan, gallery sections and events contact; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Proyectos, Santa Clara restoration project sheet; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Contacto, telephone and office hours; read 10 November 2026.
- Censo-Guía de Archivos (Ministerio de Cultura de España): Convento de Santa Clara, Archivo Histórico Arquidiocesano de Guatemala, foundation and church dates; read 10 November 2026.
- Cáceres, Jorge Enrique (2014), El exconvento de Santa Clara en la Nueva Guatemala, XXVII Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, pp. 259-272; read 10 November 2026.
- Chinchilla, Rosa Helena (2017), Boletín de Monumentos Históricos, INAH, no. 39, the 1717 earthquake and Santiago’s convents; read 10 November 2026.
- Ministry of Culture: UNESCO delegation visit, 12 December 2024; read 10 November 2026.
- GAIA: Iglesia de Santa Clara, secondary audio-guide description; read 10 November 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Santa Clara convent ruins in Antigua: can you go in, what does it cost, what is inside?
Yes. CNPAG, the council that administers Antigua’s monuments, lists Santa Clara among the six it opens to tourists, Monday to Sunday 9:00 to 17:00, at Q.40.00 per foreign tourist (undated page, read 10 November 2026). Its gallery splits the complex into the cloister, the church, the upper and lower choirs, the sacristy and the garden.
When was the Santa Clara convent founded?
On 14 January 1700, according to the description of the convent’s records in Guatemala’s archdiocesan archive and an archaeology paper published by the Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología. The founding nuns came from Puebla de los Ángeles, Mexico, and arrived in December 1699.
When was the Santa Clara church built?
The archive description says the convent church was inaugurated on 11 August 1734 and paid for by Antonio de Echevers, president of the Real Audiencia.
What happened to the nuns after 1773?
A letter in the archdiocesan archive, quoted in a 2014 archaeology paper, says the 1773 earthquakes brought down their church and left the convent uninhabitable. The nuns moved to the Canales estate, then in 1776 to a provisional convent beside the Ermita church in the new capital, and into their new convent there in 1795.
Is Santa Clara still being restored?
CNPAG’s project sheet gives a restoration programme that started in 2007 or 2008 (the sheet gives both) and was planned to end in 2022, after which the busiest areas would pass to maintenance. It covers floors, walls, the church roof, the garden and lighting.
Can I book Santa Clara for photos or an event?
Yes. CNPAG lists Santa Clara for professional photo sessions at Q. 1000.00 per session (9:00 to 16:00) and for temporary event use through its events office, PBX (502) 78734646 ext. 106.
