San José Church in San Juan

Beautiful and holy..

Beautiful 16th century architecture building recently restored using materials and methods of the 16th century period. Simply amazing experience. Travel back in time to an amazing experience.

Beautiful church to visit! Especially after almost two decades of restoration and truly a piece of history along with the monument to Ponce de Leon monument in front of it which adds to the beauty of the church and it’s historical significance! Truly a must for pictures and to visit while in old San Juan.

Iglesia de San José was so beautiful inside. I fell in love with the stained glass windows. The altar was also magnificent. However, what made this church so breathtaking was the beautiful stained glass story in the windows. I could have stared at it for hours.

Beautiful

Very beautiful.

What it lacks in grandiosity it makes up for in age: the Iglesia de San José is the second-oldest church in the Americas, after the cathedral in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic.it was the resting place of Juan Ponce de León (the first governor of Puerto Ricofor 350 years.It remains the final resting place of José Campeche, one of Puerto Ricos most revered artists. Since 2003, the church has been under works for preservation, and it was named one of the US most endangered sites due to its deterioration.

Excellent reconstruction

I truly love this church. It is filled with Gods spirit. Its also the 2nd oldest church in all of the Americas. Its close to many museums, a fort and other things, and only 2-3 blocks from the national cathedral.

After 500 years this church still standing and after 20 year renovation it looks marvelous.

To sit in second oldest Church built in the Americas.. is truly an experience.The restoration was amazing....and to be their while the a tenor was interpreting the Ave Maria was pure heaven....what an experience.Located in Old San Juan....surrounded by 400 plus year old structures...a must see location.

Iglesia San José is one of the earliest surviving examples of 16th-century Spanish Gothic architecture in the Western hemisphere. A most is your are around Old San Juan.

Gorgeous church with amazing restoration completed in 2021 that is innovative in how to preserve and display the history of the church

Would love to tour the historic church with my family but no luck so far when calling their office number ... have left my contact info in the voice message and no response yet ... how frustating is!

Historic church that has been restored.

Hermosa! Beautiful!!

After a long wait,finally open but is was worth it.This old church is very beatiful indeed.

What a breathtaking church! After many years closed for renovation, they just finished the restoration and its finally available for visits and events. This weekend I had my first wedding there and its beautiful.Note for weddings and ceremonies: the October heat and humidity inside the church was... heavy, and the sound system needs redesigning, no one on the first half of the church understood a word of the ceremony, even the bride and groom.

It took years to remodel this church -- I believe the second oldest in the Americas -- but it was well worth the wait. I found it beautiful. It was a nice contrast between the new and the old building.

Beautiful place

Beautiful reconstruction, keeping the catholic traditions and art work.

Beautiful architecture

Beautiful

The second oldest church of the hemisphere. Open this year their door after a long restauration. Architects made a good job protecting the essence of place.

Beautiful. This church is the oldest church in Puerto Rico. Its construction is divided into 2 centennials from 1532 to 1735. Before its restoration you could see the division of its centuries. After 20 years of restoration. Now with its restoration they left certain areas where you can see it.

Beautifully restored

This church was restored observing its historical value. It recently reopened its doors to the public.

Excellent and beautiful 😍

Simply beautiful!

The restoration is magnificent. The tension of serving a functioning historic church and a teaching museum is harmonious and brilliant; e.g. the frescoes of the mermaids along with the frescoe of San Telmo. Thats just one example of many. The stained glass windows by A.Mass with the churchs encased original stained glass windows is another.The church is beautiful. In due time a guide will be in print and tours will resume.

Beautifull!

The locals told this is a must visit. We agree! This church is a national treasure of San Juan and Puerto Rico.For two decades it has been under renovation and the final product is absolutely stunning. The attention to detail through the church is exquisite. The renovation designers were going for a simple clean look, soothing to the eye and the soul. They nailed it.The church is open to all at during the opening hours. I would have posted the times, but they seem to be in flux. At the time of our visit, they were open Wednesday- Saturday for visitors and Sunday for services.The day we visited, there was a memorial/funeral service about to begin. It was very interesting to see them using the facility at the same time tourist were exploring the church.Who will enjoy this? We brought our two boys, 13 and 16, and they hung with us no problem!Overall, I’m in complete agreement with the locals. This is a must church see on your visit to San Juan.If you find this review helpful, please consider liking it so others may find it as well.

An immense joy being able to step inside this cathedral that has been under renovation for decades

They just recently opened this cathedral after 19 years of renovation and it turned out spectacular! If you get a chance to see this place from the inside I totally recommend it! The architecture and the art is very inspiring. We were permitted to enter and take pictures but in the future it’s not going to be permitted.

Absolutely beautiful!! To all the wonderful people that worked soo hard to bring this gem back to life . .yah guys are amazing. Well done... Que viva puerto Rico!!

This church is under renovation, we at La Casa de las Puertas, inc. are building the doors.

Beautiful.

Old historical church. Mostly close but gotic and a must see.

Beutiful

looking for the first governor, Juan.

There was a wedding going on while we were there.

Amazing old San Juan historical church

Even under restoration phase is impresive with its colonial structure.

Beautiful location. Beautiful people!!

In renovations but beautiful

Beautiful site

Lovely people

There has been construction here at this church for a couple of years now but I guess in the near future it will be done. Shot only a few pictures because of the construction, but got a picture of the statue of Juan Ponce de León holding the Puerto Rican flag, since he was a Governor of Puerto Rico.

The church still rebuild to reopen again.

Under restoration but took pictures outside