Peru: Lima – Basilica de la Merced
This is not the most flashy or biggest church in Lima, but it is the oldest – founded in 1535, so it’s technically older then the city itself. It was established by the religious order of Mercedarians that came to Peru to “educate the conquered indigenous” people (as if the mighty Inca empire needed religious education). They built a wooden church in the middle of nowhere that eventually got transformed in a baroque adobe and stone structure. This church is seemingly the most popular as crowds of religious Peruvian catholics flock here in massive numbers to pray and touch all the various relics scattered around the church’s many chapels. The basilica is famous for its many reredos – wooden mannequin-like sculptures in the altars, considered some of the most elaborate in Latin America. To me, most were outright disturbing – like bloody Jesuses and undead-looking Virgin Marys.
