“The most noble and most faithful city of St. Francis of Quito”, capital of the republic of Ecuador and formerly capital of the Audiencia of the same name, was founded upon the ruins of the capital of Atahualpa by the Spanish conqueror, D. Sebastián de Belalcázar y Medrano, on December 6, 1534. On January 25, 1535, the noble Flemish Franciscan, Fray Jodoco Ricke de Marselaer, assisted by two other Franciscans, placed the first stone of the building which was to become the first Franciscan monastery in South America. As was the custom, the patron of the new building was the saint of the day. In this case, the feast of the day was the Conversion of St. Paul and by this name was the new friary known.