Halfway down Jirón de la Unión, the Iglesia de la Merced has the most elaborate carved-stone Baroque facade in central Lima — a churrigueresque tour-de-force of saints, columns, and floral patterns dating from the 1730s. The Merced order was the first to celebrate Mass in Lima, in 1535, and the church has been continuously in use ever since.
Inside, the gilded main altar, a 17th-century crucifix called the Cristo de la Merced carved by an Indigenous sculptor, and a series of side chapels are worth a slow walk. The pavement outside is a popular meeting point for old Lima families — older women come on Fridays to ask the Virgen de la Merced for help with personal problems.