Inside Nuestra Senora del Carmen

Sunday services inside Santuario Nuestra Señora del Carmen

One of the reasons I keep coming back to Bogotá is that there are things I want to see that I didn't get to see on my last trip. Check off one more item of unfinished business: seeing the beautiful interior of the Santuario Nuestra Señora del Carmen.

I did not have a map with me, but I had a general idea of where Santuario Nuestra Señora del Carmen was located in La Candelaria, the old historic core of Bogotá.  Maybe I should try Calle 9, since it is also named "Calle del Carmen."

And here it is.  The striking exterior of the church.

Every other time I have been here, the church has been locked tight. I figured that on a Sunday, during mass times, I could knock and the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9 allusion)

No need to knock as the doors already were open:

The beautiful ornate interior perfectly matched the striking exterior.

There were some goings-on in the front, but it didn't seem like mass had started, so I continued to snap away.

I did stay for mass and occasionally the language was sufficiently familiar that I knew where I was in the proceedings.

But, soon, it was time to go forth in peace.