Convent of San Francisco, Franciscan religious complex in Olinda, Brazil.

Convent of San Francisco is a whitewashed church with ochre-yellow trim and a scrolled baroque gable, its square bell tower of dark grey stone with white quoins rising on the left beneath a small dome and cross. Three arched doorways with dark wooden double doors open at ground level, with three rectangular windows above; a lower white wing with a tiled roof extends to the right. The complex also includes the Church of Nossa Senhora das Neves, the Chapel of São Roque, the cloister and the sacristy.

Founded in 1585, it was Brazil's first Franciscan convent but was destroyed by Dutch forces in 1631 and subsequently rebuilt. The reconstruction shaped its current appearance and marked a turning point in its long existence.

The convent's name honours Nossa Senhora das Neves, the Virgin of the Snows, and the complex also includes the Chapel of São Roque. Inside the church, sacristy and chapel, the wooden ceilings are divided into coffers holding 18th-century paintings. The cloister, nave and sacristy carry series of Portuguese azulejo tiles showing various scenes.

The convent complex stands in Olinda's Historic Center, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and can be reached on foot through the steep streets of the upper town. The entrance is on the square facing the stone cross carved from reef sandstone. The church, sacristy and chapel are the spaces to see; the library holds the rare works.

The monastery's library held a collection of rare works and housed the first public library in Pernambuco. In front of the convent stands a cross carved from sandstone taken from the reefs, a detail many visitors walk past on their way to the church.