Basílica de San Francisco

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Argentina

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The Basílica de San Francisco de Asís is one of Buenos Aires’ oldest and most historically significant churches, located in the Monserrat neighborhood just steps from the city’s founding plaza.

The Franciscan order was the first to settle in Buenos Aires in 1583, and while the first church was built in the early 1600s, the current basilica began construction in 1731 under Jesuit architect Andrés Blanqui and was inaugurated on March 25, 1754. Its original neoclassical design was dramatically transformed in 1911 by German architect Ernesto Sackman, who added an ornate German Baroque facade featuring statues of Christopher Columbus, Dante Alighieri, and Saint Francis of Assisi, creating a striking contrast with the church’s austere interior.

The basilica played a pivotal role in Argentine history: in 1829, Governor Manuel Dorrego was deposed in its convent atrium during the “election of the hat” that appointed Juan Lavalle as governor, and in 1955, peronist protesters set fire to the church during political unrest, destroying the main altar. After restoration and reconsecration in 1967, the destroyed altar was replaced by Horacio Butler’s massive tapestry “La Glorificación de San Francisco,” the largest in South America at 12 meters by 8 meters.