Agustinas en el siglo XVIII. Dibujo de Pedro Subercaseaux. In: Peña, Carlos. 1951. Una crónica conventual: el monasterio de las Agustinas de Santiago (1574-1951). El Imparcial. Santiago, Chile.

The monastery of the Augustinian Sisters was founded on August 13, 1571, being the first feminine religious order founded in Chile that is even previous to the masculine one, established in 1595. The need to have religious nuns is partially due to the demands of the Colonial aristocracy for places to educate their daughters and also instill in them a religious vision.

The place occupied by the monastery comprised the lands between the Agustinas, Ahumada and Bandera Streets, and later they acquired the land that goes to Alameda Avenue that was allocated for orchards, chicken coops and vineyards. In 1583, the Cabildo (town council) agreed to build the tower of the monastery.

In this period of time convent life was very peaceful, with luxury that was later eliminated deriving into austerity. The nuns had comfortable cells and private rooms, like small houses, even being called Mystic Chalets by the author Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna. Life within the convent was rather festive. The interns were visited by many, and they celebrated with chants and dances for the public, among other activities. However, with an ordinance passed in 1688, these activities ended. The private life style of the convent lasted until the middle of the XIX Century, when they changed to a common life system.

Their church was beautifully adorned with imagery of the saints made in wood and decorated with rich vestments embroidered in gold, diamonds and pearls that shined by the light of six lamps that hung from the roof beams. The beautiful temple, remaining as such due to eighty years of maintenance, was destroyed by the 1730 earthquake. Due to a lack of resources the new construction was much more modest than is predecessor, until the later moved to the current Moneda Street.

In 1812, the government demands part of their lands to be able to build Moneda Street, but that is not a reality until 1850 by a decree passed by the Court of Appeals, because the convent did not assign the lands. Starting from that year Moneda Street is now for public use and the convent is divided into two parts, which is solved with the construction of an underground passage way done by the architect Vicente Larraín.

Afterwards, with the sale of the lands, they have the block that goes to the Cañada left, where the new temple was built. The work was entrusted to the Italian architect Eusebio Chelli, which started to be built in 1857.

With the opening of the new streets in the downtown area of Santiago, their lands were once again reduced and therefore they decide to move to a more extensive place on Vicuña Mackenna Avenue, where they remain until today, donating the temple and convent in 1913 to the Archbishopric of Santiago.