Templo de Santa Clara, Neo-Gothic Catholic church in Cochabamba, Bolivia

The Templo de Santa Clara is a church with a single nave, pointed arch windows, and a distinctive lateral tower topped with a spire, built between 1912 and 1918. Four large windows flood the interior with natural light, and visitors enter through a side entrance framed by a pointed arch doorway.

An original convent was founded in 1648 in Villa de Oropeza as a home for the Poor Clare sisters. The current structure was designed by engineer Julio Knaudt and completed between 1912 and 1918.

The temple belongs to the Poor Clares, the order founded by Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Clare of Assisi in 1212. Inside, a high choir and a tribune stand behind a lattice wall, letting the nuns follow services out of the congregation's sight.

Enter through the side entrance marked by the pointed arch doorway, keeping in mind that this is an active convent where silence and respect are observed. Plan your visit outside prayer times to avoid disrupting the daily spiritual practices of the sisters living there.

The high choir and the tribune are separated from the nave by a lattice wall, so the Poor Clare nuns follow Mass without being seen by the congregation. Look up toward the back of the single nave to spot this screened gallery, a detail of the monastic enclosure.