In front of you is the cradle of higher education in Medellín. And also, according to a recent tradition, one of the buildings where the city's ghosts are most active.

1From friary to university

In 1801 a royal decree of Charles IV authorised a Franciscan college and friary in Medellín. On 2 August 1803 Friar Rafael de la Serna set the works in motion, including a church, on this plot in the San Lorenzo district. With Independence, the friars left in 1812 without ever fully occupying the building.

In 1822 a decree by Santander created the Colegio de Antioquia here, the origin of the University of Antioquia. During the 19th-century civil wars the complex was occupied by troops: in 1885 the church became a barracks, with kitchens and dormitories. In 1886 the Jesuits received the church and dedicated it to Saint Ignatius.

2The friar of the Paraninfo

Today the Paraninfo hosts cultural events and the university's radio station. In 2025 the newspaper El Tiempo gathered accounts from staff who speak of knocks, footsteps and moans at night, and of a monk some identify as Friar Rafael de la Serna.

The 1803 friary is documented; the friar who walks it again belongs to the stories of those who work here.

3What to look for

  • The stone doorway of the church, which keeps elements from 1803.
  • The Paraninfo's sign, with the university's name.
  • Santander's statue, for the man who created the college in 1822.

Documented

Work on the Franciscan complex began on 2 August 1803, and in 1822 the Colegio de Antioquia, the university's forerunner, was founded in it.

Oral tradition

The night-time noises and the friar some identify as Rafael de la Serna are staff accounts, with no basis beyond their testimony.

Sources and credits

University of Antioquia, history of the Paraninfo and the San Ignacio building; Universo Centro, «Plazuela San Ignacio»; David Alejandro Mercado, «Tumbas, hospitales y casas viejas: los secretos que guardan los lugares donde “más asustan” en Medellín», El Tiempo (31 October 2025).

Photos:

  • San Ignacio square with the Paraninfo building and the church of San Ignacio: SajoR, Dominio público.

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