Our rambling around Buenos Aires brought us to a pretty church in the Monserrat neighborhood, which turned out to be the Santo Domingo Convent, or Basilic of Our Lady of the Rosary. The church had an impressive monument in the front courtyard which is the tomb of the Argentine national hero General Manuel Belgrano.
The Dominicans have been in the Buenos Aires region since 1606, but construction of this church started in 1751; it was consecrated in 1783. With the exception from the right sided tower (constructed in 1856) its external appearance has not changed much over time.
(National hero Manuel Belgrano ‘s monument located in the church's courtyard)
During the early 19th century the Dominicans were expelled from the country and the church became a Natural History Museum in 1826. In 1835 President Rosas issued a decree allowing the Dominicans to return to Argentina and restore the convent. It took some years to convert the museum back into a church, but it was accomplished.
The church was declared a basilica in 1909. In 1942 it was declared a Historic Monument Nacional.
Many of the interior decorations of the church were damaged in the nationwide burning of the churches which occurred in 1955. The damage has been repaired but there has been modernization because of this, including of the main altar of the church, as you can see in the photos below. The old pipe organ was also destroyed and needed to be replaced.
The basilica has many chapels with images of saints and plaques in memory of heroes who participated in the Defense during the British invasions.
The confessionals were made of marble, with carved wooden doors -- a very attractive feature.
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