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La Popa Convent (Convento de la Popa) is a monastery at the highest point in Cartagena.
Admission to La Popa
Admission is COP$14,000 per person (as of August 2024), and it can be visited with a taxi. It’s not recommended to walk up to the convent for safety purposes.
History of La Popa
The monastery was founded in 1607 by Augustinian monks and was originally called the Holy Cross Convent (Convento de Santa Cruz). Legend has it that Father Alonso García de Paredes de la Cruz, the first superior, was fasting at the La Candelaria Monastery near Ráquira. He had a dream that the Virgin Mary commissioned him to build a monastery on the highest point in Cartagena to return the Christian faith to the area. It’s believed that locals worshipped an evil spirit in the form of a goat, which the friar threw off the top of the hill.
The first structure was a wooden chapel which was replaced by the current structures in 1612. They were financed by Fabricio Sánchez. During the early years after Colombian independence, the Augustinians were forced to leave the convent. It was used for a time as a military barracks. In 1961, the property was returned to the Augustinians.
Views of Cartagena
Before entering the convent, it’s possible to get great views of all of Cartagena. A sunny day would’ve been nicer during our visit, but it was still quite a sight.
The Convent
Inside the convent there’s a beautiful courtyard and chapel. The chapel has a statue of the Virgin of La Candelaria (La Virgen de la Candelaria) and a haunting one of Father Alonso García de Paredes de la Cruz with a spear piercing through is body. The priest and five Spanish soldiers were brutally murdered by natives on Ash Wednesday in 1633.
A small museum contains some ecclesiastical art and a paper money collection from several countries around the world.
