Exconvent of Santa María Magdalena, Religious baroque convent in Puebla, Mexico.
The Exconvent of Santa María Magdalena is a religious baroque building in Puebla featuring ornate stone carvings, detailed plasterwork, and several chapels arranged around a central courtyard. The complex displays typical features of Spanish monastic architecture with spaces designed for prayer, daily life, and teaching.
The Dieguinos arrived in San Martín in 1615 with a licence to found a convent in San Salvador el Verde, but the townspeople insisted it be built in their village. The convent was erected in the first two decades of the 18th century for the Franciscan Third Order, promoted by Viceroy Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo, Count of Monterrey. After the Reform Laws of 1857 it passed to the state; in 1861 Governor Miguel Cástulo de Alatriste granted the church to the Franciscans, and from 1880 the cloisters housed a primary school. It was declared a National Monument on 30 October 1933.
The building shows how Spanish Baroque style mixed with local Mexican materials and craft traditions. You can see the hand of both indigenous and Spanish craftsmen in the carved stone details and decorative work throughout the complex.
Mass is held on Sundays at 7:00, 8:00, 9:00 a.m., 12:00 p.m., 1:00, 6:00, 7:00 and 8:00 p.m., and Monday to Saturday at 7:00 and 8:00 a.m. The church stands in the centre of San Martín Texmelucan, on the old road between Mexico City and Veracruz. Visitors should dress respectfully and avoid visiting during services.
The German organ inside dates from 1794, and the nave was remodeled around 1953 with talavera mosaics. The former convent school for boys later became a Red Cross hospital, while the girls' school still operates as the mixed primary school "Eufrosina Camacho, viuda de Ávila".
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