Iquique community calls for reconstruction of Franciscan temple

Two years after a fire destroyed the San Antonio de Padua Temple and the Franciscan Convent, the community in Iquique has organized a ‘Mass of Hope and Reconstruction’ for Sunday, October 11. The event aims to renew faith and demand progress on the restoration of the historic site.

Despite receiving a ‘Satisfactory Recommendation’ from the Ministry of Social Development and Family in March and the approval of funds by the Tarapacá Regional Council and Governor José Miguel Carvajal in April, the reconstruction design process remains stalled. The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) has been unable to publish the necessary tender because a previous restoration study remains administratively open in official records. This bureaucratic delay has prevented the release of bidding terms for new contractors, leaving the project in limbo.