Tepotzotlan: A piece of gold of New Spain

Tepotzotlan is a small town, head of the municipality of the same name in the State of Mexico. It's situated on a small natural terrace; the site is picturesque, chiefly due to the rich vegetation. In the old native language (Nahuatl) Tepotzotlan means: "the place of the hunchback", no doubt owing to the shape of one of the hills in the neighbourhood.

It was already inhabited in prehispanic days and Cortes and his followers passed through in after the Spanish debacle on the so-called Dismal Night. After the Conquest it was, ecclesiastically, a dependency of the Franciscan convent at Cuautitlan.

Tepotzotlan was assigned to the Jesuits on 1580 by the Archbishop of Mexico for the conversion and instruction of the natives. A year and a half later, as the result of the difficulties that arose with the parish priest, Archbishop Moya y Contreras gave it outright to the Society of Jesus for the one of their residences.

On 1584 the native head-man Martin Maldonado presented some "houses and gardens" to the Fathers for their permanent abode and also as a place where they might set up a school for his fellow-natives. One year later, on 1585, the Provicial decided to transfer the Novitiate of the Society to Tepotzotlan: it had been established at first in some dependencies of the College of Sts. Peter and Paul in Mexico City. According to Father Alegre, however, the Novitiate was removed once again, this time for good, to Tepotzotlan in 1606, thanks largely to a gift of thirty-four thousand gold pesos made by a rich merchant, Don Pedro Ruiz Ahumada, who was a distant relative of St. Teresa. The first buildings of the establishments, which was later to be the centre for the spiritual formation of the Jesuits in the vast province of New Spain, were put up at that time.

The convents and churches were greatly enlarged during the 17th century thanks to a lot of donations made by important people, for example, the Medina-Picazo family with which it contributed to the raising of some truly sumptuous churches in New Spain: the church of Tepotzotlan and that the Belen, the Hospital and Church of St. Lazarus and the chapel of the Immaculate Conception in the church of Regina.

The Novitiate was operating more successfully than ever when, by royal enactment, the Society of Jesus was expelled from Spanish Empire: the measure was taken by the King Charles III, on 1767. The institutions which had been directed by the Jesuits, colleges, missions, etc., were abandoned, but the church continued to act as the town-parish under the secular clergy. The convent was falling into ruin until the Archbishop of Mexico requested on 1775 that it should be turned into a "Royal College and Seminary for the Education, voluntary Retreat and House of Correction for the Secular Clergy". The project was approved and Tepotzotlan enjoyed another period of prosperity. Archbishop Nuñez y Peralta was, in fact, so satisfied with it that at his death he bequeathed it his fine library, which numbered at the time almost three thousand volumes.

During the Liberal Reform period (Mid 19th century) an inventory was drawn up and, apart from the library, the establishment comprised 294 paintings distributed in different parts of the building, apart from the number of objects in gold and silver for the liturgical service.

Immediately afterwards, the building was once again abandoned and many objects were stolen, including the ivories in the Domestic Chapel. Later the Jesuits were able to recover the place and once again used it for their Novitiate. Finally, it passed into the hands of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, which has restored it and turned it into museum.