New campaign calls on Mexicans to rediscover the capital’s heart through revered churches

MEXICO CITY (AP) — La Profesa church in downtown Mexico City has endured through a tumultuous history. An uprising left bullet holes in its walls in 1847. A fire devoured its wooden floors decades later. Its foundation continues to sink due to unstable ground.

“What makes this space important is that it remains alive and continues to be in use,” art historian Alejandro Hernández said.

Hernández works with a handful of experts to preserve and promote the capital’s heritage through the Mexico City Historic Center Trust, which operates under the municipal government.

The trust recently launched an initiative aimed at encouraging Mexicans to reconnect with the historic heart of the city. The program includes visits to more than 40 churches, among them La Profesa, as part of 26 cultural activities planned for 2026.

“We wish for young people to get interested in their own heritage,” said Anabelí Contreras, head of outreach at the trust.

Her team constantly runs campaigns highlighting historical facts about the area.

They promote workshops and exhibitions, such as one celebrating the 700th anniversary of the founding of Tenochtitlan, the powerful Aztec capital that once stood on the site of present-day Mexico City. And the trust’s magazine, Kilómetro Cero, showcases hidden gems in the surrounding neighborhoods.

Experts like Hernández go one step further. They team up to restore treasured buildings like La Profesa, which was severely damaged by a deadly earthquake in 2017.

“After the quake, the valuable art collection inside the sanctuary’s gallery suffered the most,” he said. “We haven’t been able to reopen that space to the public yet, but we’re working on it.”

A collection brought back to life

Each building overseen by the trust has treasures to protect. La Profesa’s uniqueness lies in the paintings it preserves, Hernández said.

“What is exceptional is that so many of the paintings originally made for the church have survived,” he said.

Founded by the Jesuits in 1610, the site later took the form of the church seen today. It was rebuilt by renowned architect Pedro de Arrieta in 1714.

Its heritage includes textiles worn to this day by priests celebrating Mass, relics displayed each Nov. 2 to mark Dia de Muertos, the Day of the Dead, and the artworks that led to the inauguration of a public gallery in the 1970s.

“The heritage found in this church today dates from the 17th through the 21st centuries,” Hernández said.

The gallery safeguarding La Profesa’s paintings lies hidden from sight on its upper floor. The space now looks renewed, but bringing it back to life was a delicate, almost surgical process.

Alejandra Barrón, an architect from the trust who oversaw its two restoration stages, said some of the cracks left by the 2017 quake were so severe that one could look into the walls of neighboring buildings.

“The entire floor was replaced, the cracks were stitched together, and the plasterwork was carefully restored,” she said.

There is still work to be done and the timing of its completion remains uncertain. But for now, Barrón is relieved to see some of the artworks hanging on the walls again.

“It’s unusual to find a church that can also serve as a gallery or a museum,” she said. “If these paintings were removed from here, they would no longer carry the same meaning.”

Church and plaza bear witness to history

A few meters (yards) away stands the church of Santo Domingo. Founded by Dominican friars in the 16th century and rebuilt by de Arrieta nearly two centuries later, the sanctuary bears witness to the capital’s transformation.

The church currently dominates the landscape, yet it used to be part of a far larger complex. Most of its chapels and convent gradually were destroyed. A new street was later paved through the site, effectively splitting the complex into two.

Across from the church stands a residential compound where remains of the convent’s arches can be seen. The trust works closely with the community to preserve the site.

María Esther Centeno has lived there for decades. Dozens of Mexicans like her were offered an apartment in the area after a devastating quake in 1985 left many without a home.

“When they (from the trust) came to fix this place, we learned about its history,” she said. “There used to be a dining hall. On that other side were the nuns’ cells.”

Neither the homes nor other buildings underwent restoration after the 2017 quake. However, the church still hurts from the tragedy.

The trust’s architect overseeing its renovations knows the building like the back of his hand. A hidden clock, a wall shadowed by the organ and the bell tower all had cracks repaired by Jesús Martínez and his team.

“To me, this is the most important sanctuary in Mexico’s historic center after the cathedral,” Martínez said. “The choir stalls are unique because they are original — they haven’t been broken up or replaced.”

On a recent morning in late January, María Lourdes Flota entered Santo Domingo by chance.

She traveled from the state of Yucatán in southern Mexico to visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. While walking across downtown, the church caught her eye.

“This is my first time here and we decided to come in,” she said. “It’s so beautiful. I love all the images it preserves.”

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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.