After several years of restoration work (the completion date was still unknown at the time of research), this church's interior is still mostly bare, but the views from the bell tower are splendid. Because the order of La Merced left Sucre for Cuzco in 1826, taking its records with it, the church’s founding date is uncertain, but it’s believed to be sometime in the 1540s.
The baroque-style altar and carved mestizo pulpit are decorated with filigree and gold inlay. Several paintings by the esteemed artist Melchor Pérez de HolguÃn are on display – notably El Nacimiento de Jesús, El Nacimiento de MarÃa and a self portrait of the artist rising from the depths of purgatory.
