San Antonio Panzacola

This chapel was built in the 17th century, according to legend under the initiative of a woman whose sons had followed in their father's footsteps, a famous smuggler. When the police wanted to raid her house, where rooms were full of smuggled goods, she prayed that they would not fall into the hands of the authorities and promised to build a chapel with half the value of the contraband. Miraculously, upon entering the house, the police did not see the piled boxes, and the woman fulfilled her promise, using the other half of the goods to encourage her sons to engage in a lawful activity.

The name Panzacola derived from a ranch that was located where the Viveros de Coyoacán are now. To this day, it is not easy to visit its interior, because it only opens for masses on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday mornings. The rest of the time it remains closed to protect the valuable baroque altarpiece inside.

From the outside, it is very simple but interesting because it has not undergone many modifications. The round volcanic stone abscissa, the gargoyles, and the pinnacles suggest a medieval aspect. The façade features a semi-circular arched entrance with an interesting keystone, and above it is an image, not of Saint Anthony of Padua (the patron), but of Saint Sebastian. This saint was very important in the early colonial centuries, because having been shot and beaten as a martyr, he bore many scars that people associated with those you get when you survive a contagious epidemic like smallpox. For this reason, people venerated him to obtain protection from epidemics.

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