A place that seems outside of time and space that opens the door for us to understand popular art and the world of contemplation and penance.
Atotonilco means place of hot water and it is that a scarce kilometer from the Sanctuary we have a thermal water spring, whose curative properties were estimated since pre-Hispanic times, a reason that contributed to the construction of the temple that supplanted customs. It was Father Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro, priest of the Oratory, the builder in 1748, to house a house for the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. He counted among his benefactors and builders with the most resourceful people of San Miguel, and thus we have among them Manuel de la Canal, the great sponsor of several Loreto churches in Mexico and a follower of the Italian Jesuits who brought this devotion as the fathers Zappa and Salvatierra.
What impresses the most about this church, or to be exact, about this group of churches, as it is made up of seven chapels and six dressing rooms, is the painting by the artist from San Miguel, Antonio Martínez Pocasangre, -in contrast, it must have been called Many Blood, following this Mexican taste so baroque of blood in abundance.
The paint covers everything without leaving spaces from the door to the last dressing rooms. His expression is popular, very naive and colorful, combining with wallets and legends, which introduce us to the world of the emblematic. But the theme with the living environment of the environment, where we find pilgrims who arrive with crowns of thorns placed on their heads, nopal leaves on their backs or bleeding knees and the same sale of handicrafts where silicones and disciplines are sold, it penetrates us in the great chapel of the Holy Sepulcher and of Calvary. On the altars, the most important steps of the passion of Christ are staged in sculpture, and the painting complements the entire plastic representation of our expensive redemption.
A reclining Christ in the middle of the nave, as if in vigil, and the placement of lamps in the oriental style, complement the painful and mystical atmosphere of our participation in the work of salvation. This chapel has three dressing rooms. The joy of the Bethlehem chapel will contrast with the rigorous mourning shown by the Soledad de Nuestra Señora, between black curtains and a great void.
The constructive set is promoting visual environments as requested by San Ignacio in his "compositions of place", but in such a profusion that he left no subject to be discussed, as can be seen in the painting that covers domes, vaults and walls.
In the altarpieces we can appreciate an extraordinary quality in carving and gilding, and to highlight this apotheosis baroque of our 18th century, we find oil painting on mirrors, with great profusion and quality. In addition to its spiritual and artistic importance, Atotonilco keeps the testimony of the marriage of Captain Ignacio Allende with María de la Luz Agustina y Fuentes, and the presence of Hidalgo, from which he took the banner that he would fly as the first Mexican flag. This banner with the Guadalupana image that will follow the independence ideal until it becomes one of the three guarantees when our nation's feat is consummated: Independence, Religion and Union.
The cloister is currently used as a center for the spiritual retreat and pilgrimage of the faithful and is a sober construction with the appearance of a fortress, whose walls guard numerous works of art from the 18th century.
