My name is La Conquistadora. I have had this name for 388 years, ever since I came to the Southwest with the Spanish pioneers who called themselves conquistadors. I am a small wooden statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, dressed in real clothes with an extensive wardrobe like a Spanish Queen of old. Every single year I have been in Santa Fe, I have been taken out in procession, and not a day has passed without someone beseeching the Mother of God for intercession in my presence. I currently reside in the Our Lady Chapel in the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis Assisi. I haven't always had such splendid surroundings. I was enclosed in a crate measuring 40 inches long by 24 inches wide and 22 inches deep and carted by an ox train from Mexico City to Santa Fe in 1625. Upon arriving in Santa Fe I was placed in my new home, the parish Church of Our Lady of the Assumption, which had mud floors and a leaking roof. In 1640 my church, called a shanty by the Franciscans, was razed and I was enthroned on the altar in the new and larger adobe church also entitled Our Lady of the Assumption. For a time there was peace and tranquility and a spirit of religious devotion took hold of the Spanish settlers. I also received visits from the nearby Pueblo Indians and the more distant Apaches who were very curious about me. The entire population of Santa Fe celebrated my presence on the feast of the Immaculate Conception when I was dressed in silk and gold braid and was taken out in procession as Our Lady's representation. In honor of her new feast day, both I and the parish Church became known as Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. In the ensuing years as hostilities broke out between the Spanish settlers and surrounding Pueblo tribes, the Spanish visited me more often, usually to say the rosary, requesting the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the safety of their families. Hence I became known as Our Lady of the Rosary. Prayers alone didn't suffice to quell the coming Pueblo uprising as mistrust had developed between the neighboring tribes and the Spanish, in large measure owing to Spanish politicians who continually exploited the tribes. On August 10, 1680 the Pueblo tribes and Apaches joined forces to attack the Spanish settlers across the territory. Many Friars and settlers perished. On August 15 Santa Fe was attacked and both San Miguel Mission and Our Lady of Assumption Church were set afire. I was rescued by devotees and was taken to the fortress-like Palace of the Governors where the Spanish resisted the Pueblo onslaught for a full five days. Finally on August 21, the remaining Spanish settlers, friars and conquistadors decided to leave Santa Fe and travel south all the way back to Our Lady of Guadalupe Mission at El Paso del Norte. In 1684 the Spanish exiles from Santa Fe built a chapel - Our Lady of Conquest at San Lorenzo, a few miles down the Rio Grande river from El Paso and this became my home until 1692 when my new knight, Don Diego de Vargas, was sent from Madrid to lead the exiled Spanish back into the New Mexico territory. Don Diego de Vargas had an intense devotion to our Blessed Mother and he prayed before me daily for her intercession.. He was especially inured to my image likeness of Blessed Mary and appreciated the deep connection between myself and the original Spanish settlers of New Mexico. After gathering his forces and the exiled Spanish settlers at San Lorenzo and El Paso, Don Diego de Vargas brought me by wagon train back to Santa Fe in the summer of 1692. Before entering Santa Fe, Don Diego and his conquistadors offered prayers in my presence to the Blessed Virgin Mary for their safety and success. Surprisingly the Pueblo tribes offered little resistance, convinced by Don Diego de Vargas that they should welcome the image of our Blessed Mother, also their spiritual Mother, back to their lands. Indeed there was a large celebration of Spanish and Indians together when we arrived at the plaza in Santa Fe and the Friars erected a large white cross. I was placed in a small chapel in the Palace of the Governors and received almost daily visits from then Governor Don Diego de Vargas until his untimely death in 1704. Ten years later a large parish church was built on the east side of the plaza and was dedicated to St. Francis. Connecting with the north transept of this church, a chapel with intricately carved beams and corbels was built for me. Here at last I had my permanent throne where I sit today, although in 1850 a much larger cathedral church was built over and around the old Saint Francis church which was then disassembled with my chapel left intact and renamed the Our Lady Chapel, currently the most historic venue of the Cathedral. I sit here daily unless I am taken out in procession on Blessed Mary's feast days or when I'm escorted to the Rosario Chapel for viewing in celebration of Don Diego de Vargas's peaceful reentry into Santa Fe in 1692. I always await the prayers of the faithful and especially listen to those who truly believe in the Blessed Virgin Mary's assumption into heaven. I also fervently wish to help those who are desperate for God's mercy. I welcome all pilgrims to come and pray for the Blessed Mother's intercession with our Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of their intentions.
Click below for a video of La Conquistadora in procession.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXX-deNx4Rg
Jun 24, 2009 - Uploaded by jedareynolds
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