The most prominent building on the plaza is the cathedral. Built with stones taken from Maya structures, it was completed in 1598 making it one of the oldest buildings on the continent. The architecture reflects the combination of Moorish and Renaissance styles that were prevalent in Spain at the time.

Inside, immense stone columns hold up a beautiful latticed stone ceiling, and a huge wood Christ stands behind the altar in place of more elaborate altarpieces seen in other churches. Overall, the exterior and interior are stark in comparison to some of the ornately adorned churches in other parts of Mexico—this is partly owing to the traditional austerity of Franciscan design, and partly to damage and looting that took place during the Caste War and the 1910 revolution.

On the left side of the cathedral, a small but elaborately decorated iron and glass chapel houses a revered image of Jesus called El Cristo de las Ampollas (The Christ of the Blisters). Carved from a tree in Ichmul that had been engulfed in flames but remained undamaged, the wooden statue reportedly went through another fire in Ichmul’s church that destroyed the church but only left blisterlike welts on the statue. A religious festival is held in honor of El Cristo de las Ampollas every September, though on Sundays you’ll see the devout come to see the statue and to say a brief prayer.