Saint Francis of Assisi Church, Catholic church in Popayán, Colombia

The Church of Saint Francis of Assisi is a late-Neo-Granadan Baroque Catholic temple in Popayán, built from 1765 and blessed in 1787 while still unfinished. Its monumental stone facade, finished around 1788 by Roque Navarrete, is the largest 18th-century facade left in New Granada. The bell tower holds the San Antonio bell, cast in gold and bronze, and the interior has ten side altars and a Plateresque pulpit.

The first church on this site, built in the 16th century, was destroyed by the 1736 earthquake. Reconstruction began in 1765 to designs by the Spanish architect Antonio García, though funds ran out by 1771 and lime and gold were donated to continue. The church was blessed unfinished on 12 July 1787, the facade was finished around 1788 by Roque Navarrete, and the bishop Salvador Jiménez de Enciso consecrated it in 1818. Damaged in the 1983 earthquake, it was restored with Spanish government cooperation.

The church remains an active Catholic worship site where people gather for religious ceremonies, particularly on feast days and holidays. It connects the colonial past with how the community practices faith today.

The church is centrally located at the corner of Calle 4 between Carreras 9 and 10, making it easy to reach on foot from other downtown areas. Visitors should check the schedule as services occur throughout the week at different times.

The bell tower holds the Campana de San Antonio, cast in gold and bronze and counted among the largest bells in the Americas. The church was raised to sanctuary status after Pope Francis granted its main altar a privileged designation on 22 January 2017, because it holds a first-class relic of Saint Magnus of Anagni brought from Rome.