Church of Belén, Catholic church in Santiago district, Cusco, Peru

The Church of Belén is a colonial church building located at Belen Square, marked by a large stone facade and several side chapels. The interior arranges its spaces around a central nave with carefully proportioned chapels lining both sides.

The parish of Los Reyes was founded on 28 April 1559 by corregidor Juan Polo de Ondegardo on the order of viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, in the Cayocachi quarter west of Cusco. It took the name Belén after receiving the image of the Virgin of Belén that same year. The 1650 earthquake damaged the church badly; under bishop Manuel de Mollinedo y Angulo and parish priest Martín de Irure it was rebuilt on a plan by Juan Tomás Tuyro Túpac, largely finished by 1696, with tower and altar completed in 1715 as a window inscription records. The 1950 earthquake brought down one tower, rebuilt under architect Oscar Ladrón de Guevara Avilés.

The altars and walls display religious art that blends Spanish motifs with Andean symbols in a single visual language. This mix tells the story of how two very different traditions came together in one building.

The church sits on a public square with easy access and is open for visitors during certain times of the day. You can view it from outside or step inside to explore the interior when it is open.

The tower and main altar were finished only in 1715, as an inscription in one of the windows records; the rest of the church was largely complete by 1696. The 1950 earthquake brought down one of its towers, and the Cusco Reconstruction Commission entrusted the work to the Cusco architect Oscar Ladrón de Guevara Avilés.