Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio (Church of Our Lady of Suffrage) is a notable and historic Roman Catholic church located in the Boston barrio in Medellín, which is worth seeing if you like old churches.

The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary under the invocation of Suffrage. Furthermore, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio is a neo-Romanesque-style church that has several beautiful stained-glass windows and many pieces of religious artwork.

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

History of Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

The area where Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio was built originally belonged to the Parish of Veracruz.

In the early 1900s, a board was established that determined a temple should be built dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the souls of purgatory. For this reason, the church was giving the name Nuestra Señora del Sufragio (Our Lady of Suffrage).

In addition, the new church was to be built in the Boston neighborhood of El Centro, which used to be called Sucre.

The land for the church was reportedly donated by Don Juan Bautista Isaza. The church was designed in 1908 and construction started the same year. The church opened in 1919 in time for celebration of the National Marian Congress.

At a later date in 1938, the Colegio Salesiano El Sufragio school opened located right next to the church with the goal to help improve the intellectual, moral and cultural education of youth in the neighborhood.

The main altar in Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

Inside Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

Inside the church you will find a beautiful white interior with some gold and burgundy trim. And the church has wooden pews.

In addition, the church has several beautiful stained-glass windows.

Stained-glass windows in Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

Additional stained-glass windows in the church

More stained-glass windows in the church

And more stained-glass windows in the church

Furthermore, there are many pieces of religious artwork to be found throughout this church.

Virgen del Perpetuo Socorro

One of many religious artwork pieces in the church

And like many other churches in the city, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio has confessionals on both the right and left sides.

Confessional in the church

Also, the church has several murals, which is not very common in the other churches in Medellín.

One of several murals on the ceiling of the church

In addition, the church sometime holds funeral services and it has a small mausoleum.

Part of the mausoleum in Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

Parque Boston with a statue of General Jose Maria Cordoba

Parque Boston

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio is located next to Parque Boston in El Centro.

Parque Boston is one square block plaza that has the church on one side and several small local restaurants, bars and shops along the other sides.

This park has a few shade trees and is considered a good place to meet up with friends in the neighborhood.

How to Get to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

The easiest way to get to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio is via a taxi. The church is located next to Parque Boston in the barrio Boston in the La Candelaria comuna (El Centro) in Medellín.

It is a long walk from a Medellín metro station to Parque Boston. The two nearest metro stations are San Antonio and Parque Berrio.

Most taxi drivers in Medellín will know where Parque Boston in El Centro is located. If not, give the driver the address of the church below.

Address: Calle 55 # 39-61, barrio Boston in El Centro, Medellín

Phone: +57 4 216 4732

Email: elsufragio@arqmedellin.co

Hours: Monday to Saturday the church normally has mass at 7 am, 8 am, 9 am, 5pm and 6:30 pm. And on Sunday it normally has mass at 7 am, 8 am, 9 am, 11 am, noon, 6 pm, 7 pm and 8 pm. So, the church is normally open in the morning and again late in the afternoon. But we recommend calling to make sure the church will be open when you go.

The Beautiful Churches in Medellín

In the metropolitan Medellín area, there are over 300 Roman Catholic churches. Most notably, a complete list of churches for the Archdiocese of Medellín can be found here.

We have looked at a total of 33 beautiful churches in the Medellín metro area and the Aburrá Valley in a series on this website. And 22 of the churches we have looked at in detail are in Medellín:

1. Catedral Basílica Metropolitana – the main church of the Archdiocese of Medellín and the largest church in the city.
2. Iglesia de La Candelaria – the oldest church in Medellín, which is also a National Monument of Colombia.
3. Iglesia San Antonio and Plaza San Antonio – the church with the largest dome in Medellín located next to Plaza San Antonio with four Fernando Botero sculptures.
4. Iglesia Jesús Nazareno – another of the most beautiful churches in Medellín.
5. Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Perpetuo Socorro – a beautiful Gothic-style church in Medellín.
6. Iglesia del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús – a neo-Gothic-style church located in Barrio Triste in Medellín.
7. Iglesia de San José – a Boroque-style church located in El Centro, Medellín.
8. Iglesia del Señor de las Misericordias – a neo-Gothic-style church located in the Manrique neighborhood of Medellín.
9. Iglesia San José – a Romanesque-style church located next to Parque Poblado in El Poblado.
10. Iglesia de la Veracruz – a colonial church with a history that goes back to 1682, which makes it one of the oldest churches in Medellín.
11. Iglesia de San Ignacio – a beautiful church in El Centro with a Baroque-style exterior and colonial interior.
12. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora – a Roman-style church located next to Parque Belén in Medellín.
13. Iglesia el Calvario – a Romanesque-style church in the Aranjuez comuna in Medellín.
14. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio – a neo-Romanesque-style church in the Boston barrio in Medellín.
15. Iglesia de San Benito – a neo-Romanesque-style church with a history that traces back to 1678, which make it one of the oldest churches in Medellín.
16. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores – a Neo-Byzantine-style church in the La América comuna in Medellín.
17. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sagrado Corazón – a beautiful Neo-Gothic-style church in the Buenos Aires comuna in Medellín.
18. Iglesia de Cristo Rey – a beautiful church in the Guayabal comuna of Medellín with many beautiful stained-glass windows.
19. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores – a beautiful Neoclassical-style church in the Robledo comuna of Medellín, which is also a National Monument of Colombia.
20. Iglesia del Cementerio San Pedro – a beautiful church built in 1929 that has some of the most beautiful stained-glass windows found in the churches in Medellín.
21. Iglesia de El Niño Jesús de Praga – a beautiful church in the Villa Hermosa comuna in Medellín.
22. Iglesia San Joaquín – a beautiful church in the Laureles-Estadio comuna in Medellín that is reportedly the second largest church in Medellín.

Also, we have looked at the principal church in each of the other nine municipalities in the Aburrá Valley:

1. Iglesia de Santa Gertrudis – a beautiful church in Envigado located next to Parque Envigado.
2. Iglesia Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a church located in Bello that is arguably the most beautiful church in the Aburrá Valley
3. Iglesia de Santa Ana – a very popular church in Sabaneta located next to Parque Sabaneta.
4. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a historic church in Itagüí near Medellín with a history that traces back to 1743.
5. Nuestra Señora Chiquinquirá – a beautiful church in La Estrella with a Neo-Gothic-style.
6. Catedral Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes – a Neoclassical-style church with a history that traces back to 1793 and is located in the Caldas municipality south of Medellín.
7. Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción – a Baroque-style church with a history that traces back to 1715 and is located in the Copacabana municipality north of Medellín.
8. Catedral de Nuestra Señora del Rosario – a Neo-Romanesque-style church located in the Girardota municipality northeast of Medellín.
9. Iglesia de San Antonio de Padua – a Neo-Romanesque-style church located in the Barbosa municipality northeast of Medellín.

Also, we looked at two smaller colonial-style churches while looking in detail at two nearby larger churches:

1. Hato Viejo Chapel – a colonial-style church in Bello built between 1772 and 1796. It’s also a National Monument of Colombia. We looked at Hato Viejo Chapel while covering Nuestra Señora del Rosario.
2. Capilla de María Auxiliadora – a colonial-style church in Barbosa built between 1773 and 1776. We looked at Capilla de María Auxiliadora while covering Iglesia de San Antonio de Padua.

In addition, we looked at Las Lajas Sanctuary located in Ipiales, Colombia, which is considered the most beautiful church in Colombia. Also, it’s considered by many to be one of the most beautiful churches in the world.

Virgen del Carmen in Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

The Bottom Line: Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio

Iglesia de Nuestra Señora del Sufragio is not found in any of the 10 English language Colombia travel guidebooks that I have. But it’s worth stopping to see this notable Roman Catholic church if you like old churches with beautiful stained-glass windows.

Several of the most notable and beautiful churches in Medellín are located in El Centro like this church. But we have also been looking at notable and beautiful churches in other neighborhoods in the Medellín metropolitan area.

Seems like, in my experience, that most of the travel guidebooks in English about Colombia are missing many of the best places in the cities and pueblos in Colombia.

Consequently, we have covered the beautiful churches in the Medellín metro area in a comprehensive series on this website. Most noteworthy, we did this since a majority of the beautiful and notable churches in the city are missing from the English-language travel guidebooks about Colombia.

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