Mythical shrine with circular towers
The church at Homún, while erected in a style typical of 17th-century religious buildings, is remarkable for being one of only two churches in Yucatan to sport three towers on the façade, as noted in Vice-regal religious architecture in Yucatan, the other being Yaxcabá. However, in this case they were added some time after construction. Homún, the text continues, “was built by Franciscans, and the towers were added later, perhaps in an attempt to emulate [Yaxcabá]. There are two of two sections, and a central one of three, although they are disproportionate to the size of the nave.”
The church forms part of a complex which also included the sacristy, monastery, cemetery and orchard. The monastery is apparently older than the parish church, as Diego López Cogolludo, in his History of Yucatan, mentions that Homún was given the status of monastery in 1561.
The old monastery, on two stories, extends north-east from the church. On the lower floor there is an arcade giving onto the atrium. It seems to have been roofed with iron and wooden beams in 1910.
Behind the altar is a 16th-century painted mural reredos presided over by an image of the patron saint of the church, St. Bonaventure, a 13th-century Franciscan friar considered to be one of the greatest doctors of the Catholic church. His feast day is the 15th of July.
Local legend regarding the image tell how, during the armed attacks of the Caste War, the saint descended from the altar to intercede for the village. Devotion to the saint is such that every year on his feast day hundreds of believers from Cuzamá, Sotuta, Huhí, Hocabá and other neighboring villages congregate at his shrine.
The Mayan toponym Homún means “five green or unripe”, from ho’, the number five, and muun, unripe. The village is located in south central Yucatan, 55 km (34 miles) from Merida.
The treasures housed in the church can be viewed during the times of religious services.
Location