Chapel of Christ (The humiliation)

It is the oldest chapel in Pátzcuaro. Located on the old royal road, it is a site of great tradition, from which the legend from which this site took its name stands out:According to some historians, it was in this place where Tangaxoan Tzintzicha surrendered to the Spanish crown in the person of the Master of Field Cristóbal de Olid.

True or not, at this site there is a stone crucifix on a quarry monolith forming what is known in Spain as a “humilladero”, that is, a cross in a public place before which the faithful “humble themselves”.

Previously, there was only the Christ on its octagonal base and pedestal, perhaps covered by four pillars as appears in an old painting about the transfer of the cathedral from Tzitzuntzan to the Pátzcuaro neighborhood.

The chapel was built later and it can be seen that the pedestal has an octagonal base on which the pedestal itself and the cross are raised; on the four sides of the pedestal of Christ of the Humilladero there are beautiful and interesting engravings: in front appear the insignia of the passion, on one side the inscription of the foundation of the chapel in 1553 by Don Vasco de Quiroga, on another side the coat of arms of the city, on the back the coat of arms of Don Vasco de Quiroga: "VaCs D Qviroga" and below the coat of arms: "Primvs EpisCopvs".

In the 18th century, the “Humilladero” was covered with the chapel that currently houses it and which adopted its name.

Every year the feast of this chapel takes place on the fifth Friday of Lent. There is special devotion to Lazarus, the leper from the parable of the rich man and the beggar. 

On the austere façade of the church, on both sides of a crown carved in stone, one can see images of the sun and the moon, as a manifestation of the ancient religion of the Purhépechas. It also houses a rare and interesting collection of oil paintings.