The church and monastery of San Francisco bear witness to Chile’s artistic history during the colonial period. During the 16th and17th century one sees the emergence of features which are part of traditional Chilean architecture, such as the tiled roofs, the corridors and interior patios. During this period the citizens of Santiago found it necessary to use a system of forced labor in order to maintain their homes, public buildings or religious centers adequately. The church and the museum contain many works of colonial art. The collection is both aesthetically and historically the most important in the country. The collection is a synthesis of Andean and colonial art. The objects of art include paintings, sculpture, woodwork, carving, wrought iron, gold and silver items, embroidery and furniture. The most outstanding oils are the series on the life of St. Francis, and in sculpture, the carvings from the School of Quito.

The church and monastery were declared National Monuments in 1951 by gobernment decree.

One can see in the walls of the central nave some of the rough stones used in the original construction at the beginning of the 17th century. There is a fine stuccoed ceiling of carved wood executed during the first half of the 17th century. The structure is based on a combination of three rows of corbels superimposed over other corbels, all carved from thick trunks of wood. As well as their decorative purpose, they serve to give solidity to the construction and has allowed the church to withstand many earthquakes over the centuries - it is the oldest in Santiago. Its original decorations were based on geometric designs showing Moorish influence. This disappeared with the restoration in neoclassical style carried out in the 19th century. On both sides of the entrance to the nave there are alabastar pillars mounted on the wooden pedestals of the colonial era. On the southern side one sees " Our Lord of the Sugar Canes", brought from Perú, dramatically executed in polychromed wood. On the left on this wall, an image of Christ in the mannerist style. At the end, on the neoclassical high altar carved wooden candelabra represent St. Francis and St. Dominick. The Virgen del Socorro, patroness of the church, presides over it from the center of the high altar. This little statuette was brought to Chile by Pedro de Valdivia on his saddle bow and was always with him in his expedition of conquest in 1540.

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