Monks of the Lesser Brothers Order were the first settlers of the Argentine city of Santa Fe. They were the followers of the St. Francis of Assisi Order. It happened in the middle of the 17th century. That time, the construction of the Franciscan cathedral started. For the first ten years, that was a small construction with a thatched roof. A modern religious complex was building for 15 years from 1673. 

In the eastern part of the complex, you can see a women's Catholic monastery with several cells and areas of the local religious community. All the cells were built in three rows. They were connected with the church in the western wing. Such square construction had a churchyard in the center. Some Paraguayan orange trees were planted on its perimeter. You can see them today. 

At the end of the 19th century, people reconstructed the complex. The facade was rebuilt in the classic Italian style. But the most interesting part of the cathedral is its wooden roof. It was made and attached to the main structure without a single nail by local Indians.

The interior of one of the oldest cathedrals attracts attention with its furniture of the colonial period. Its main altar was brought from Spain in the 18th century. First, it was built for the shrine of the Jesuits, but they did not take it. So, the altar was offered to the Franciscans, and they gladly installed it in their cathedral. On the right, here are the images of Christ. They were created by Alonso Cano and given by the Queen of Spain Marianne of Austria to the monastery.

A wooden table with a scratch, made by a jaguar, is located in the center of the cathedral. According to some data, the wild cat came to the monastery during the flood and sneaked to one of the monastery rooms. In the evening, nobody noticed this dangerous animal, so it killed three priests and one citizen in the morning. The beast itself was killed by an armed patrol unit, but the traces of its stay were left on the church table.