Look for the Templo Expiatorio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus, an immediately recognizable landmark in Leon’s Old Town. The neo-Gothic church is decorated in a variety of pastel hues and features stained-glass and rose windows. Take time to explore the building, appreciating both the temple’s bright exterior and its equally stunning interior.
The temple is a lasting reminder of the community spirit and zeal of the residents of Leon. Witness the results of the whole town coming together after construction on the church stopped during the Cristero War. Work began in 1921, but by the time the war broke out only 80 percent of the building had been completed. The townspeople worked together, providing the stones needed to finish this spectacular church.
Bring your camera along to photograph the unique exterior. Look for outstanding details such as an iron doorway, which is decorated with bronze leaves engraved with images from the life of Christ. Farther up the façade is a vast rose window depicting Jesus surrounded by cherubs.
Head inside to admire the impressive interior, which features four separate chapels and several religious paintings. The church contains the main altar, which is made from white and green marble, and several others. The colors inside are further enhanced by stained-glass windows decorated with various images of Christ, as well as a red and green granite floor.
Explore underneath the church in atmospheric and extensive catacombs. Seven crypts beneath the church contain the remains of more than 900 people.
Visit after dark to see the vividly colored temple in an even more dramatic and atmospheric setting. Watch the fountains and walls light up and take dazzling photographs of the monumental church against the night sky.
Car parking is available at the church, although the area is also easily accessed on foot. Walk to the Templo Expiatorio del Sagrado Corazon de Jesus from nearby attractions in Leon. To the west lie the green gardens and historic buildings of the Martyrs Plaza. Head east to see the Heroes’ Causeway Arch.
