The Templo de San Francisco, standing on the plaza of the same name, is one of the oldest churches in the city, its origins going back to 1590 — just two years before the official founding of San Luis Potosí. The current structure is 18th-century, with a rose-stone facade that is more restrained than the Carmen but has a quiet dignity. The interior holds a venerated image of the Lord of the Wounds (Señor de las Llagas) and retains some of the original colonial gilded altarpieces.
The adjoining ex-convent houses the Museo del Virreinato, which covers the colonial period in the region with a collection of religious paintings, furniture, and objects from the mission era. The Plaza de San Francisco in front of the church is one of the most pleasant in the city — surrounded by colonial arcades and with a central fountain — and is quieter than the main Plaza de Armas a few blocks away.