Havana - Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Merced

For visitors who may not normally be interested in visiting churches, the Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Merced in Havana provides something different and interesting you may enjoy. This church provides a fascinating glimpse into what happens when Catholicism and African cult religion combine.

The Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Merced is perhaps one of Havana's best known churches for those who follow the Santeria religion and are devoted to the worship of the divinity Obbatala.

The Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de la Merced was built in the early 17th Century and was reconstructed in the 19th Century. The 19th Century reconstruction added the gilded altars and the frescoed vaults.