wood and he ambitiously redesigned the facade and towers. These plans never materialised, but the drawings have been conserved. José Jerez intentions were to construct a fabulous Gothic temple in stone and cement. The last part of the temple in 1904 was built under the direction of a board composed of well known personalities in Santa Tecla These personalities were: Enriqueta Fajardo de Araujo, Carmen Estévez, Gertrudis Orellana, Isabel Morales, Juana Olivares Saldaña, Josefina Alcaine and Rosalía Chavez. In 1910 the church's facade was completed. The bronze image of the Lady of El Carmen was dedicated 25 March. The artwork was donated by Recaredo Gallardo and his wife, Carmen Alvarado de Gallardo. Painting inside the sanctuary was concluded in 1913. This concluded the construction work started 37 years earlier by León Castillo. Father López-Peña made further efforts to expand the convent; he eventually gave it to priests of the Society of Jesus, who have been responsible for the church since. From that point forward, a Jesuit priest has always been the chaplain of the church. The arrival of the Jesuits When the necessary canonical authorizations were granted, the priests of the Society of Jesus received the church and residence of El Carmen in January 1916. The sanctuary had to be repaired a little over a year later due to an earthquake. The painting and artistic restoration was performed by brother Frías S.J. He is the same artist who painted the image of the Lady of Guadalupe in the Gothic altar of the Salesian workshops of the School of Arts and Trades in Santa Tecla. The crucified Christ of the altar and the screen of the main gate as well as the confessional booths and pulpit were carved in these workshops. The earthquakes of 2001 On 13 January and 11 February 2001, the territory of El Salvador was struck by two powerful earthquakes of 7.7 and 6.1 magnitudes in the Richter scale. These events completely damaged Iglesia del Carmen, prompting the Society of Jesus to initiate plans to raise funds to demolish the existing structure and begin building a new church. Public authorities in El Salvador have reportedly delayed this procedure because they want to make sure that the structures of the church cannot be rescued before they authorize the demolition of this cultural and historical milestone of Nueva San Salvador. The "El Carmen Project" is a non-profit foundation that has