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In 1928, during the widening works of Avenida Colón, the vaults of this old construction appeared on the surface of the sidewalk. It currently constitutes a municipal museum where guided tours are held and a cultural exhibition hall.

The Jesuit Novitiate, founded in Córdoba in 1608, worked on the corner of what is now known as Avenida Colón and Rivera Indarte. Originally its headquarters were in the Jesuit Block, but as time went by, this place was reduced, so the Father General of the Order suggested, from Rome, that a special house be rebuilt for that destination.

The economic situation did not allow its construction, so it was only in the year 1700 that brothers Ignacio and Francisco Mujica, entered the Order of Jesus, donated their property to locate the Novitiate. Before being occupied, major reforms were made, including a chapel that apparently, due to its scale, came to be considered a church of great proportions. The authorship of the same is attributed to the architect of Bohemia, Johann Krauss.

One of the first works was the construction of a Crypt. When the austere Father General Miguel A. Tamburini learned of these works, he ordered from Rome to suspend them and reconsider the transfer of the novices. The work was half finished and the property was used for each of the exercises, dependent on the Jesuit College. Francisco Mujica remained there until his death, which occurred shortly thereafter.

Although it had been operating as such for some time, it was not until 1726 that Father General officially declared the new destination of the property, although two years before, after Lent, the door that led down to the chapel was blocked up. The building began to deteriorate and in 1767 after the expulsion of the children of San Ignacio, the architect Joaquín Martín made a detailed inventory of the property, however it was not known what it was built for or what had functioned there.

A few years later, it was handed over to the Betlemitas parents, who were in charge of the care and attention of the city hospital. They were also awarded the Jesuit apothecary which included medical books. Once the work on the San Roque Hospital was completed, the Betlemitas sold that property in differentiated plots.

In 1928, during the administration of Emilio F. Olmos, it was decided to widen Colón street, and thus the vaults of the old crypt appeared on the surface of the path, but it was decided to demolish its roof and fill it with rubble. Already in 1989, after a section of the crypt had circumstantially surfaced to the surface, its archaeological and architectural recovery was decided.



The Jesuit Crypt is the buried ruin of what was once the Jesuit Novitiate in the city of Córdoba (Argentina).



Today the Crypt of the Old Novitiate, later the House of Exercises of the Society of Jesus, is presented with its three naves, made up of thick pillars that accompany the brick and raw stone walls.

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