Yes, you can go inside: CNPAG, the national council that protects Antigua and administers this monument, lists the former Discalced Carmelite convent of Santa Teresa de Jesús as open to tourists, Monday to Sunday from 9:00 to 17:00, at 1ra. Calle Oriente No. 1-A.
In short: Santa Teresa is the Discalced Carmelite convent finished in 1677, the year its first three nuns arrived from Lima; its church followed in 1683-1687. The 1773 earthquakes brought down the church vaults, and between 1940 and 1950 Antigua’s men’s jail was moved into the ruined convent. CNPAG lists it for ordinary visits, photo sessions and events. The visitor fees by category are on our Antigua ruins entry-fees page; this page covers what the building is and how to visit it.
Visiting: hours, closed days, address
CNPAG’s services page, undated and read on 10 November 2026, names Santa Teresa de Jesús among the six monuments open to the general public. It gives the visiting hours as 9:00 to 17:00, Monday to Sunday, with closures only on 1 January, 1 November, 24 and 25 December and 31 December. The same page says payment exemptions are not currently being authorised because of the institution’s economic constraints.
| What | As published | Publisher |
|---|---|---|
| Address | 1ra. Calle Oriente No. 1-A, La Antigua Guatemala | CNPAG, Uso de Monumentos |
| Block | 1a Calle Oriente between 3a. Avenida Norte and 4a Avenida Norte | Ministry of Culture SIC directory |
| Visiting hours | 9:00 to 17:00, Monday to Sunday | CNPAG, Servicios (undated) |
| Closed | 1 January, 1 November, 24 and 25 December, 31 December | CNPAG, Servicios (undated) |
| Photo sessions | 9:00 to 16:00; Q. 1000.00 per session, one monument | CNPAG, Servicios (undated) |
| CNPAG telephone | PBX (502) 78734646; offices Monday to Friday, 7:30 to 16:00 | CNPAG, Contacto |
All rows read 10 November 2026.
Inside, CNPAG does not allow drinking alcohol or bringing in pets, firearms or bladed weapons, and it bans any kind of physical activity because the monuments are visited for heritage education. CNPAG’s monument-use page also links downloadable plans and a photo gallery for Santa Teresa, which help you see the layout of church and cloister before you go.
A convent that waited ten years for its church
The Ministry of Culture’s SIC entry describes the project as a convent of Discalced Carmelites under the advocation of Nuestra Señora del Monte Carmelo, inspired by Saint Teresa of Ávila. It says families and residents of the city made donations in 1675, building began that year, and the convent was finished in 1677. There was no separate church yet, so a hall of the convent was used for worship.
CNPAG’s own project history fills in the paperwork behind the foundation:
| Date | What CNPAG records |
|---|---|
| 1668 | The city council agreed to ask the king for a licence to found a Discalced Carmelite convent, as the priest Bernardino de Obando wished |
| 22 June 1675 | A Real Cédula authorised the convent under the advocation of Santa Teresa de Jesús |
| 1675 | Bishop Mañosca y Murillo left, by his will, the houses he lived in to the foundation |
| 26 October 1676 | The Audiencia complied with the royal order |
| 25 May 1677 | Three Carmelite nuns arrived from Lima, Peru; their house was not ready, so they lodged at the convent of Santa Catalina Mártir |
| 29 September, next entry in the same account | With the convent finished, the three nuns were taken there in a solemn procession from the Cathedral |
| 17 August 1683 to 12 April 1687 | Construction of the formal church |
Source: CNPAG, Proyectos, read 10 November 2026.
CNPAG adds that the historian Annis credits the church to the architect José de Porres, pointing to the similarity of its elements with the Cathedral. SIC notes that the interior columns were arched, with elaborate finials carved in stucco.
Earthquakes, repairs and the jail years
Santa Teresa’s own damage record runs across three centuries. For an earthquake in 1717, CNPAG quotes the chronicler Ximénes: “La iglesia que es obra fuerte no recibió lesión alguna solo un cuarto alto por estar desamparado se le hizo una rajadura en la esquina”. Annis, citing a document in the National Archive, reports damage that year to the convent building, and temporary shelters were built for the nuns, in the orchard according to Annis and in the convent gardens according to Markman. Between 1737 and 1751 Bishop Pardo de Figueroa found the convent badly battered by repeated tremors and partly reinforced, partly renewed it.
| Year | Event, per CNPAG |
|---|---|
| 1751 | The church was damaged in the earthquakes of 4 February |
| 1770 | The city council authorised a fund-raising for repairs to convent and church |
| 1773 | Earthquakes destroyed the church vaults and damaged the convent |
| 1932 | By deed of 21 June, the municipality handed the Santa Teresa church-and-convent property to the national government in exchange for the property of the Compañía de Jesús |
| 1940-1950 | The men’s jail, previously in part of the Palacio del Ayuntamiento, was moved into the ruined convent |
| 1976 | The earthquakes of 4 and 6 February cracked convent walls on both floors, displaced the church’s end wall and detached a column on the lower body of the façade |
The other property in that 1932 exchange has its own page: the Compañía de Jesús. CNPAG’s chronology does not give a date for the jail leaving Santa Teresa, but its 1986 work log still records a photographic survey of the convent occupied by the men’s jail.
What CNPAG has done to the building
CNPAG lists its interventions on Santa Teresa year by year. In the church: debris removal, cleaning and drawings in 1974, vault consolidation in 1975, consolidation of the wall by the confessionals in 1980, removal of interior fill in 1981 and a new wooden door at the church entrance in 1983. In the convent: shoring on the ground floor in 1990, restoration of the small lanterns and vaults of the upper floor in 1991, cleaning of the cloister walls in 2002, and in 2008 the reopening of bricked-up openings and cleaning of the cloister.
The same project file says the building shows a high level of deterioration, which it puts down to disuse in the church and to the unworthy use the cloister was put to. Its objectives include fitting out the church and former convent for cultural activities and making their artistic and historical value known to national and foreign visitors. Those are stated aims; the file does not say which have been completed. CNPAG’s restoration department still lists the Santa Teresa complex among its restoration projects.
Photo sessions and events
Santa Teresa is one of five monuments CNPAG makes available for professional photography (first communions, quinceañeras, weddings). Payment of the Q. 1000.00 session fee is made at the Treasury in the Convento de Capuchinas, 2da. Avenida Norte and 2da. Calle Oriente, Monday to Friday 9:00 to 16:00; the fiscal receipt names the day and the monument, and a shoot on another date is not allowed. For receptions, CNPAG’s monument regulation prices Santa Teresa’s first-floor cloister; the figures are in our wedding planner and venue cost guide. Requests for temporary use go to CNPAG’s events office at eventoscnpag@gmail.com.
For more of the city’s churches and convents, see things to do in Antigua, the San Agustín ruins and museum, and our page on earthquakes near Antigua.
Sources
- SIC, Ministry of Culture: Ruinas del Templo y Convento Santa Teresa de Jesús, foundation, columns, block address; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Servicios, undated monument list, hours, closures, rules, photography fee; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Uso de Monumentos, monument address, plans, events contact; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Proyectos, Santa Teresa foundation chronology, damage record and interventions; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Departamento de Restauración, restoration project list; read 10 November 2026.
- CNPAG: Contacto, telephone and office hours; read 10 November 2026.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Santa Teresa de Jesús convent ruins in Antigua: can you go in, what is it, and where?
Yes. CNPAG, the council that administers Antigua’s monuments, lists Santa Teresa de Jesús among the monuments open to tourists, at 1ra. Calle Oriente No. 1-A. It was the convent and church of the Discalced Carmelite nuns, founded in the 1670s; in the 20th century the ruined convent held the city’s men’s jail.
When are the Santa Teresa ruins open?
CNPAG’s services page gives 9:00 to 17:00, Monday to Sunday, closing only on 1 January, 1 November, 24 and 25 December and 31 December. The page is undated (read 10 November 2026). Admission is charged by visitor category; the fee table is on our Antigua ruins entry-fees page.
When was the Santa Teresa church built?
According to CNPAG’s project history, the formal church was begun on 17 August 1683 and finished on 12 April 1687. Until then, the Ministry of Culture’s SIC directory says, a room of the convent served as the church.
Was Santa Teresa really a prison?
Yes. CNPAG’s chronology says that between 1940 and 1950 the men’s jail, which had occupied part of the Palacio del Ayuntamiento, was moved into the ruined convent. Its 1986 work log includes a photographic record of the convent occupied by the men’s jail.
Can I book Santa Teresa for photos or a wedding?
CNPAG lists Santa Teresa for professional photo sessions (9:00 to 16:00, Q. 1000.00 per session, one monument per payment) and for temporary event use through its events office, PBX (502) 78734646 ext. 106. Sessions cannot block ordinary visitors.
