Iglesia de San Francisco, Ancud, Catholic church in Ancud, Chile

Iglesia de San Francisco is a wooden church building set on elevated ground in Ancud, featuring a Latin cross layout constructed from native timber species. The exterior is covered with shingles made from local alerce wood, giving the structure its distinctive appearance.

The current structure was completed in 1933, replacing two earlier churches built in 1845 and 1851 that were destroyed by separate fires. The community's reconstruction after repeated disasters demonstrates resilience in maintaining this place of worship.

The church belonged to the Chilotan School of wooden religious architecture, a tradition of timber churches on the Chiloé archipelago. Its site held three successive temples: one built in 1845, a second in 1851, and the last completed in 1933. During the 1960 earthquake the building served as a shelter for the community.

The church stood in Ancud, on Chiloé Island in the Los Lagos Region, and was destroyed by an intentional fire on 22 January 2020, so there is no interior to visit. The Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage announced the day after the fire that it planned to rebuild it as soon as possible. Check locally for the state of the site before planning a stop.

The church was declared a National Historic Monument by Decree 48 of 21 August 2019, but the decree was only published in the Diario Oficial on 29 January 2020, a week after the intentional fire that destroyed it on 22 January 2020. The Ministry of Cultures, Arts and Heritage announced the day after the fire that it planned to rebuild it as soon as possible.