| La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús | |
|---|---|
| Basic information | |
| Location | Quito, Ecuador |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic |
| Website | http://www.ficj.org.ec/ |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | Latin American Baroque |
| Direction of façade | South |
| Groundbreaking | 1605 |
| Completed | 1765 |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Volcanic gray stone |
La Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús (English: The Church of the Society of Jesus, known colloquially as La Compañía) is a Jesuit church in the historic center of Quito, Ecuador. It is one of the best-known churches in Quito because of its large central nave, which is profusely decorated with gold leaf guilded, plaster and wood carvings. It was modeled after the Church of the Gesù and Sant'Ignazio in Rome.
Styled in Latin American Baroque, it took the Jesuits order almost 160 years to finish construction. Design elements include a near symmetrical facade, Moorish influence in the nave, and artwork by artists of the Quito School of Art. The bell tower was one of the tallest structures from the colonial period, but fell as effect of the earthquakes of 1859 & 1868. Over the past twenty-years, the church has undergone a lengthly restoration work, especially since a fire damaged the interior of the nave.
A sarcophagus with the remains of Ecuador's patron saint, Mariana de Jesús, is located in the base of the central altar.