The late Gothic church stands on St. Francis Street in the Lau de Arriu neighborhood. Next door was the convent of the Confraternity of the 3rd Order of Franciscans (1726-1850), which no longer exists today. Important from an art-historical point of view, the small shrine was built in the first half of the 1700s by the barons of the fiefdom, which also subsequently belonged to the family of Barons Sanjust (until 1839), who intervened like their predecessors to confirm its importance in worship practices.
The building recalls the humility of St. Francis in its simple façade, with an octagonal window above the entrance portal, in which elements from the Canticle of Creatures are depicted. There is a bell gable with bell dating back to 1729. The church of St. Francis is associated in the oldest memories of the Teuladin population with the execution of death sentences. In fact, the friars also had the task of spiritually assisting those destined for the shackle, who were allowed to spend their last night of prayer in St. Francis, where public charity brought the prisoner not only spiritual comfort but also good things and cookies. Descended from this is the expression still in use in Teulada: “Chi ti ponganta pistoccus in cappella!” truculent augury that sounds euphemistically thus, “May you be hanged.”
Remaining open for worship until 1954, renovation work began in the 1970s, only to hand it back, enclosed by walls embellished with sculptures and bas-reliefs about the saint, in 1994 to the Teuladin community, which celebrates the saint’s feast day on October 4 with evocative rituals and heartfelt participation of the population.
