
Following the halting of works, BS Peru published an open letter on its website on the 19th September, expressing its concern about the judicial decision to stop works being carried out by the Metropolitan Municipality through PROLIMA in the San Francisco in the historic centre of Lima to enhance the public space.
The site of the San Francisco Christian Complex in Lima, Peru, is one of the most emblematic and important urban-monumental environments of the Historic Center of Lima, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1991. It is made up of the churches of San Francisco, Nuestra Señora de la Soledad, and El Milagro – temples that, in turn, are integrated through the public square of San Francisco, visited daily by hundreds of residents and visitors.
In 1987, during the years of violence and conflict in Peru, the Municipality of Lima installed a 145-meter perimeter fence around the public square, in order to protect the religious group. Within the framework of the implementation of the Master Plan, the community developed a project to recover the original values of the religious complex and the enhancement of the square as a public space. These actions include the removal of the perimeter fence, which BS Peru argues contributes to peacebuilding in the city. The project was developed under the recommendations of the UNESCO World Heritage Center and has the approval of the Ministry of Culture of Peru.
Visit the website of Blue Shield Peru to read the statement
Read about the work of BS Peru to recover the community space in Lima
Interested in Blue Shield Peru’s wider work? Read their Annual Reports in the Blue Shield library