From Cusco’s bustling Plaza de Armas, take a little detour to the Baroque bell tower of La Merced, one of Peru’s most prominent Catholic churches. After stepping through the church’s imposing gate, let yourself be drawn to its shining main altar and explore its cloisters and small museum.
Soon after the Spanish conquered Cusco, Riña Sebastián de Castañeda founded this colonial outpost for the religious order of the Mercedarians.
Originally built in 1535, La Merced was hit hard by the Cusco earthquake of 1650 and had to be completely reconstructed. While the church’s Baroque design is clearly Spanish, its stonework was perfected by skilled Quechua laborers. In 1946 Pope Pius XII granted the church the title of Minor Basilica.
Enjoy the peace and quiet in the church, which has three naves. You can’t miss the neoclassical main altar, which is adorned by six gilded Corinthian columns. At the altar’s center sits the serene statue of Our Lady of Mercy. Underneath, the crypt holds the tombs of prominent Spanish conquistadors.
Enter the small, landscaped courtyard left of the church, to visit the cloisters and religious artifacts museum. In the courtyard’s covered passageways, look up at the series of paintings that depict the life of the San Pedro Nolasco, who founded the order of Mercedarians in Barcelona in 1218.
Look for the golden image of the sun in the cloister. La Merced’s small museum houses an even more valuable treasure. A humble cabinet holds a 16th-century golden vessel, a so-called monstrance, that is covered in precious stones and crowned with an unusually large pearl. The relic weighs more than 49 pounds (22 kilograms).
La Merced sits just to the southwest of the central Plaza de Armas and is best reached on foot or by taxi. To see the church at its most liveliest, attend one of the twice-daily masses.
The museum of La Merced is open daily too, with a few hours of closure around lunch time each day. Entry to the church is free, but there is a small entry fee for the museum.
