Church of St. Francis - a former monastery church of the Franciscan Order, in the historic center of Santiago de Chile. The church is located on the south side of Alameda del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins - the main street, between metro stations Universidad de Chile and Saint Lucia.

In 1541, the conquistador Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago del Nuevo extremes in the bends of the Mapocho River. And in 1544 the Order of the Franciscans made an inquiry about the construction of a temple on the site. After receiving a long-awaited resolution, the Franciscans started the construction of the temple with the local workforce. The first temple was built of limestone, it was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1583. The church reopened its doors to parishioners in 1595.

Construction of a new church building in the form of a Latin cross with stone walls, a tower and sacristy was completed in 1613. In subsequent years, it was carried out construction of the monastery, consisting of two buildings constructed in 1628. A strong earthquake in 1647 heavily damaged the building - the church lost its tower and the monastery - the second floor. Soon after the tower was rebuilt church and monastery continued to expand. The monastery was built a new hospital, and the church has several side chapels.

In 1730, another earthquake struck the city and once again damaged the tower had to be dismantled. Another church tower was built in 1758 along with a new main entrance to the church, made of hewn stone. In 1828 the church floor was paved with brick, the interior of the temple were decorated with mahogany. In 1854 the church tower was demolished again and replaced by another by the architect Fermin Vivacheta. The clock tower was built in 1857.

At the end of the XIX century Church of San Francisco continues to expand. In 1865, the facade of the church was rebuilt in Baroque style. There was also a marble pulpit, renovated ceiling cassette, renovated stucco interior and exterior walls of the temple. In 1895, a chapel was built on the northeast corner of the church. In 1929 he built a new facade overlooking the streets of London.

With the onset of the XX century Franciscan monastery passed most of the city. On the territory of the former cloister and garden in the 1920s it was built residential complex in Paris-London-de Santiago, and on a small square in front of the church was an arbor of flowers Pergola de las Flores, which is immortalized in his play Isidora Aguirre and composer Francisco Flores del Campo in the musical comedy of the same name. The remainder of the building of the monastery is the Colonial Art Museum of San Francisco, opened in 1969.

In order to keep the building the church in 1951, it declared a national monument of Chile. In the following years were also carried out restoration work in the building of the church after the devastating earthquakes in 1986 and 2010. In 1998 the Church of St. Francis was represented by the Chilean authorities to UNESCO as a candidate for inclusion in the World Heritage List.