The church maintains is very large atrium, which was common to monasteries during the evangelization efforts of the very early colonial period. These atriums were meant to hold large congregations of indigenous peoples, who were ministered to by very few monks. The side gate of the atrium has a mixture of Plateresque, Gothic and indigenous feature. The west gate has three arches, which represent the Spanish, indigenous and mestizo peoples of the area. This was the space where the first baptisms of the indigenous were done. The church/monastery complex is tall and has a fortress appearance, again something common for the time period.