The roof was soon removed and local settlers used the original timber for construction elsewhere. It was first replaced in 1921 and again in 1947 and 1978, but the nave was exposed to the elements for over sixty years. Hundreds of people received communion. Mass. The replaced floor and holes in the walls tell of fortune hunters looking for Jesuit treasure that never existed. Little is known of individual experiences within the church.
Original documentation gives only glimpses of what happened.
Sanctuary Ascending the steps leading up out of the nave, one enters the sanctuary, still adorned with its original paints, picture frames, and extensive stenciling. The twelve picture frames on the walls were probably for paintings of the twelve apostles. In the top of the dome is a green triangle symbolic of the Holy Trinity. The pigments for the paints were from plants and minerals. The blue pigment is made from Indigo, a plant introduced to Mexico during Spanish times.