Jesuit Church, Religious building from colonial period in Cercado, Bolivia

The Templo de la Compañía de Jesús is a Catholic church on Baptista Street near Plaza 14 de Septiembre. It has a basilical plan: a central nave under a barrel vault on transverse arches, side naves with three domes each, and a dome over the crossing on pendentives, with a Crucified Christ at its centre. The symmetrical facade has a front balcony adjoining the high choir, a round-arched doorway decorated with quatrefoils, and two bell gables whose bells are rung by a mechanical system.

The Jesuits began building this church in 1717 and finished it in 1745. In 1892 the colonial structure was altered with neo-Gothic elements, and in 1958 the Catalan architect Jordi Bonet Armengol remodelled the facade and interior, moving its carved gold-leaf pulpit to the Church of San Ildefonso in Quillacollo.

Inside is the urn of the Señor del Santo Sepulcro, donated by Albina Patiño, wife of the tin magnate Simón I Patiño; the image is guarded by the brotherhood of the Caballeros del Santo Sepulcro. The carved wooden pulpit, covered in gold leaf in mestizo baroque style, stood here until 1958, when it was moved to the Church of San Idelfonso in Quillacollo.

The church stands on Baptista Street, a short walk from Plaza 14 de Septiembre. The main door opens under a balcony that adjoins the upper choir; inside, the bell ring is worked from a mechanical system. Look up at the crossing dome and the barrel vault of the central nave.

The original wooden beams and stone foundation reveal handcraft techniques from the 18th century. These old building methods remain visible and document how construction was done during that time.