Churches, Convents and Monestaries

The variety of churches here is remarkable and most have been wonderfully restored or maintained. The Convento de San Pedro Claver now serves as museum in part. It was founded by Jesuits in early 17th century and is named for Spanish-born monk Pedro Claver, called the "Apostle of the Blacks" or the "Slave of the Slaves", he spent all his life ministering to the slaves brought from Africa. He was the first person to be canonized a saint in the New World in 1888. The Iglesia de San Pedro Claver is above left and was completed in the first half of the 18th century. The remains of the saint are in the alter surrounded by beautiful stained glass windows. Above right is the Catedral-Arzobispado of Cartagema - a massive church with a lovely dome that rises above the city. The signiture building of the University of Cartagena is a former convent, Claustro San Augustin-Hoy. The tower is beautifully restored and painted, shown here above immediate left. Two smaller lovely churches in pretty squares are the Iglesia Trinidad (right) and the Iglesia Santo Toribio de Mogrojejo (right below). The College of Beaux Arts now enjoys it's location in a charming brightly colored church in the square of San Diego shown below on the left.