Churches in Mexico

A close look at the church's walls reveals pieces of Mexico's history.

An eclectic blend of esoteric imagery covers its interior.

This one-of-a-kind convent boasts a kaleidoscopic exterior of stars and double-headed eagles.

This ornate church designed by a self-taught architect is an eclectic masterpiece in the heart of Central Mexico.

These nearly 500-year-old scenes are largely faded by the ravages of time, yet still maintain their power to horrify.

These colonial murals are a fascinating hybrid of Spanish and Indigenous aesthetics.

Mexico's largest collection of masks is found in the ruins of an abandoned convent.

Fragments of the former temple's lost facade are now displayed in a strange library of stones.

A neo-Gothic temple in central Mexico featuring a labyrinthine network of crypts.

The masses at this church incorporate enough moonshine and animal sacrifice that they are no longer recognizably Catholic.

The splendor of this 17th century golden chapel has led it to be called the "eighth wonder of the world."

This church devoted to Mexico's "dead saint" is a festive celebration of a formerly hidden religious figure.

Bright, rebellious indigenous murals dating back to the Spanish Conquest inexplicably cover the walls of this Catholic church.

Visit this small Mexican church to pray to a mushroom that is supposedly marked with the image of Christ.

Twelve natural mummies are displayed in the crypt of this former monastery school.

This church, buried halfway in lava rock, is all that remains of a Mexican village destroyed by a volcano.