Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Turkmenistan Gates of Hell Darvaza crater
Turkmenistan • 10 days, 9 nights
Turkmenistan & the Gates of Hell
from
Slovenia mushroom foraging
Slovenia • 6 days, 5 nights
Forest to Table in Alpine Slovenia
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Nagi Gumba
Top floor of castle.
Kifune Castle
 The front of Asian Garden Mall.
Asian Garden Mall
The cable car is one of two in Europe that crosses open ocean.
Dursey Island Cable Car
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
A slice of cake is the perfect coda to a meal at Piatto Romano.
Piatto Romano
Crunchy and supremely satisfying, suppli might be the ultimate street food snack.
Supplizio
The pedigreed pistachios here are from Bronte.
Gelateria dei Gracchi
This tiny hole-in-the-wall serves one of the world’s most magnificent sandwiches.
Er Buchetto
Seafood features prominently on the menu.
Dakar NOLA
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Sheep at Colonial Williamsburg on a sunny day.
Little Lambs, Big Back Story
about 17 hours ago
View of Santa Monica Beach and Los Angeles in afternoon sun. Aerial view from above the pacific ocean water.
Why Did Celebrity Preacher Aimee Semple McPherson Mysteriously Disappear?
1 day ago
The glass-ceilinged atrium of the Bradbury Building was inspired by Edward Bellamy’s utopian literature.
The Bradbury Building Featured in ‘Blade Runner’ Was Inspired by a 19th-Century Utopian Novel
3 days ago
Berza gitana is one of the exemplary dishes of Gitano cuisine.
How Gitano Cuisine Found a Home in Andalusia
3 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Mexico Mexico City Santuario Nacional del Angel de la Santa Muerte

Santuario Nacional del Angel de la Santa Muerte

A church dedicated to the Mexican skeleton saint.

Mexico City, Mexico

Added By
Laetitia Barbier
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Santa Muerte   Laetitia Barbier / Atlas Obscura User
Santa Muerte   Laetitia Barbier / Atlas Obscura User
  Feathergirl77 / Atlas Obscura User
  Feathergirl77 / Atlas Obscura User
  Feathergirl77 / Atlas Obscura User
  jesuisrobert / Atlas Obscura User
  jesuisrobert / Atlas Obscura User
  jesuisrobert / Atlas Obscura User
  jesuisrobert / Atlas Obscura User
Sanctuario Nacional del Angel de la Santa Muerte   markatkinss / Atlas Obscura User
La Nina Blanca   Laetitia Barbier / Atlas Obscura User
  Robert Hemedes
  Robert Hemedes
  Robert Hemedes
  Robert Hemedes
  Robert Hemedes
  Feathergirl77 / Atlas Obscura User
Front of the church   Laetitia Barbier / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Located in the historical center of Mexico City, the Santa Muerte Sanctuary is one of the most important landmarks for those who worship "The Bony Lady." Three times a week, believers gather in the modest Bravo Street church to attend ceremonies deviated from Catholic mass.

La Santa Muerte is probably the most popular idol in Mexico after Santa Maria de Guadalupe, an attention condemned by the Vatican, who sees the reverence for the skeleton saint as blasphemous. Suspiciously seen for sometimes being associated with drug trades and criminality, the Santa Muerte is the idol of the destitute, the one who lost hope and is outcast by the Catholic Church. 

The church itself contains a large statue of La Santa Muerte alongside the main altar. In 2007, David Romo, the Bishop of the Chapel, replaced it on the actual altar with a dressed mannequin, the Angel de La Santa Muerte, to avoid a too-macabre association with criminal acts. 

Related Tags

Relics And Reliquaries Rites And Rituals Architectural Oddities Architecture

Know Before You Go

Metro Zocalo - Morelos.

It's wise to take caution while visiting the area and be on the lookout for motorcycles whizzing by.

Atlas Obscura Adventures

Flavors of Oaxaca: Markets, Mezcal & Home-Cooked Meals

A Culinary and Cultural Journey Through Oaxaca.

Book Now

Community Contributors

Added By

Laetitia Barbier

Edited By

Junost Apodo, rjhemedes, markatkinss, jesuisrobert...

  • Junost Apodo
  • rjhemedes
  • markatkinss
  • jesuisrobert
  • Feathergirl77

Published

May 30, 2013

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Santuario Nacional del Angel de la Santa Muerte
Nicolás Bravo 35
Venustiano Carranza
Mexico City, 15100
Mexico
19.436055, -99.122147
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Mercado Abelardo L. Rodríguez Murals

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Justo Sierra Historical Synagogue

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Rectoría del Señor de La Humildad (Manzanares Chapel)

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico

Places 180
Stories 17

Nearby Places

Mercado Abelardo L. Rodríguez Murals

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Justo Sierra Historical Synagogue

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Rectoría del Señor de La Humildad (Manzanares Chapel)

Mexico City, Mexico

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico

Places 180
Stories 17

Related Stories and Lists

Morbid Monday: La Santa Muerte, the Skeleton Saint

morbid monday

By Laetitia Barbier

Related Places

  • Catacombs of Washington, D.C.

    Washington, D.C.

    Catacombs of Washington, D.C.

    Franciscan monks created a facsimile of the Holy Land for North Americans who couldn’t afford the trip overseas.

  • The crushed guy is at the bottom of the pillar behind the St. Thomas Aquinas reliquary

    Toulouse, France

    Church of the Jacobins' Little Crushed Man

    There is a strange little carving of a person seemingly crushed by a pillar behind the remains of St. Thomas Aquinas.

  • Joseph Heintz, “Competition on the Ponte dei Pugni in Venice” (1673)

    Venice, Italy

    Ponte dei Pugni (Bridge of Fists)

    100 year tradition of fist fights, marked by marble footsteps.

  • London, England

    Masonic Lodge of the Andaz Hotel

    Hidden behind a wall for decades, this masonic lodge was only rediscovered during renovations.

  • A relic of St. Genevieve

    Paris, France

    The Relics of St. Genevieve at St-Etienne-du-Mont

    The remaining relics of the patroness of Paris lie in a chapel under a striking double spiral staircase.

  • Hanging Temple

    Datong, China

    Hanging Temple of Hengshan

    A fifth-century temple improbably built into the side of a cliff.

  • The Music Box Steps today.

    Los Angeles, California

    The Music Box Steps

    The site of a classic series of Laurel and Hardy pratfalls.

  • Paris, France

    Le Droit Humain Masonic Lodge

    The historic Masonic Lodge in which the first-ever female Mason was initiated.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.