Church of the Society of Jesus, Jesuit baroque church in Historic Center, Ecuador.
The Church of the Society of Jesus, known as La Compañía, stands at García Moreno and Sucre in Quito's Historic Center. Its façade is carved entirely from volcanic stone, divided into three vertical sections and two tiers, with twisted columns framing niches and an arched double-door entrance. Inside, a barrel-vaulted nave covered in gold leaf rests on square piers, with arched side chapels, dark wooden pews and a gilded main altarpiece beneath a windowed dome.
The Jesuits reached Quito on 19 July 1586 and bought plots until they owned the whole block between today's García Moreno and Benalcázar streets. Work began in 1597 under Francisco Ayerdi, who was replaced in 1605; from 1605 to 1614 Nicolás Durán Mastrilli executed plans sent from Rome with architect Martín de Azpitarte. Marcos Guerra arrived from Italy in 1636 and added the domes, barrel vaults and gilded decoration.
Locals call it La Compañía, and the Jesuit Bernardo Recio nicknamed it "Golden Ember" for the gold sheets covering the interior. Pope Francis prayed before the image of Our Lady of Sorrows here on 7 July 2015; John Paul II celebrated mass on 30 January 1985.
The complex occupies the corner of García Moreno and Sucre, a block from the Plaza Grande in the Historic Center. The entrance is on the carved stone façade; the gilded nave lies beyond it. The interior is a working church, so visits pause during services.
The church has been called the "Temple of Solomon of South America", and the travelling Jesuit Bernardo Recio named it the "Golden Ember". Pope John Paul II presided over a mass here on 30 January 1985, and Pope Francis prayed before the image of Our Lady of Sorrows on 7 July 2015.
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