New Mexico Catholic Pilgrimage: Saint Francis Cathedral

The Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi, located one block east of the Plaza, is the eminent architectural and historical landmark of Santa Fe. The Cathedral was the dream of Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy, the first Vicar of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, who arrived in Santa Fe in 1850 to discover that a small adobe mission church, La Parroquia, with a leaking roof and mud floors, was the mother church for the new archdiocese. Archbishop Lamy did all he could to raise funds for a Cathedral. He sold his horse carriage and furnishings from the Bishop's residence, convinced local merchants to contribute, obtained pledges from the Bishops of Cincinnati and St. Louis, established a tithe system for Catholics in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and returned to his native Southern France to collect donations. The cornerstone was laid in 1860 and the new cathedral was constructed around La Parroquia, so that Santa Fe residents would continue to have a church for worship. Work on the Cathedral slowly progressed in starts and fits as funding waxed and waned. Bishop Lamy oversaw most of the Cathedral construction but died in 1888 before completion and consecration of the Cathedral in 1895. Clearly the Cathedral bears his signature. It was designed in the Romanesque revival style popular in Lamy's Southern France. As such the cathedral features characteristic round arches separated by Corinthian columns and truncated square towers. The Cathedral was built from yellow limestone blocks quarried near the present site of Lamy, New Mexico. A keystone brick arch was constructed above the main entrance and contains a carved triangle with the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew. It was reported that Bishop Lamy recommended this carving in appreciation of financial contributions made by local Jewish merchants towards the building of the Cathedral. During the restoration in 1986, new bronze doors were created, each with ten large panels that portray intertwining civic and religious events in the history of the Catholic Church in Santa Fe. A 2005 addition to the upper facade of the cathedral is a small, round window featuring a dove, the symbol of the Holy Spirit. The outside portico features statues of Saint Francis, the patron saint of the Archdiocese, Kateri Tekakwitha, the first Native American to be canonized, and of course Bishop Jean Baptiste Lamy, whose remains are buried in the crypt beneath the Cathedral floor.

Entering the Cathedral's nave, one's attention is immediately drawn to the floor to ceiling altar screen in the main sanctuary. This reredos, the work of the renowned iconographer, the Franciscan Brother Robert Bly, titled Saints of Americas, depicts 13 saints of North and South America, as well as Our Lady of Guadalupe. In the middle of the reredos is a nicho with a blue robed statue of Saint Francis of Assisi, which was carved in Mexico City in 1710. Also on display in the sanctuary are two large oil paintings that once graced La Parroquia. The Agony in the Garden and The Arrest of Jesus, proclaim our Lord's sacrifice. These are works of the renowned Mexican artist, Pascual Perez, which also date to 1710 and were brought to Santa Fe from Mexico City by ox-cart. Above the altar is the six foot San Damiano Cross, a replica of the crucifix in the Basilica in Assisi, where Saint Francis prayed and was inspired to restore the Church by serving the sick and the poor. Adorning the side walls of the Cathedral's nave are retablos (two dimensional paintings on wood) of the Stations of the Cross by the contemporary New Mexico artist, Maria Romero Cash. In Penitente style, the Stations are edged with painted red curtains that add drama to Christ's passion. In between the Stations are Bishop Lamy's French imported, stained glass windows illuminating the lives of the Apostles. The American made celestory windows overhead depict the coat of arms of the Archbishops of Santa Fe.

Passing through a transept from the main altar to the Our Lady Chapel, one encounters the oldest Marian statue in the Americas, entitled La Conquistadora, Our Lady of Conquering Love. The statue was carved from willow tree bark in Spain in the early sixteen hundreds then was brought by Franciscans to Our Lady of Assumption Chapel in Santa Fe in 1626. During the pueblo revolt in 1680 she was rescued from a fire that consumed the chapel and she was taken to Juarez, Mexico. She was returned to Santa Fe by the conquistador Don Diego de Vargas in 1692 when he convinced the Pueblo tribes to return Santa Fe back to the Spanish settlers. He attributed his success in reclaiming Santa Fe with minimal bloodshed to prayers made to the Blessed Mother and in 1710 he rebuilt Our Lady of Assumption Chapel for La Conquistadora . That chapel was subsequently incorporated into the present day Saint Francis Cathedral where La Conquistadora remains on display. Her costumes are changed by the liturgical season and feast days and she has a diverse wardrobe. She is the object of persistent devotion to our Blessed Mother. She was crowned Our Lady of Peace by Archbishop Sanchez in 1990.

In the novel," Death Comes For The Archbishop", Willa Cather describes the landscape of Santa Fe that must have greeted the new Bishop, Jean Baptiste Lamy in 1850 as he arrived on horseback after a long journey from his previous parish in Cincinnati, " As the wagons went forward and the sun sank lower, a sweep of red carnelian-coloured hills lying at the foot of the mountains came into view; they curved like two arms about a depression in the plain; in that depression was Santa Fe, at last! A thin, wavering adobe town...a green plaza... at one end a church with two earthen towers that rose high above the flatness. The long main street began at the church, the town seemed to flow from it like a stream from a spring. The church towers, and all the low adobe houses, were rose color in that light,-----a little darker in tone than the amphitheatre of red hills behind; and periodically the plumes of poplars flashed like gracious accent marks, -----inclining and recovering themselves in the wind."
The young Bishop Lamy exalted in the beauty of Santa Fe, its mountains and sunsets, its oasis-like setting. He thanked God for his safe arrival in Santa Fe and he vowed to eventually build a cathedral that would pay homage to God's obvious majesty in the Southwest and to the persevering Christian faith of the Spanish who had settled here. It seems that he succeeded. The Cathedral stands like a religious portal to the Santa Fe forest and mountains. It is the Christian centerpiece from which the plaza and town descend toward the valley. The Cathedral's interior honors the Spanish Catholic Colonial era. It creates the lasting impression that this place was claimed for God -- a long time ago.

For a vimeo of Saint Francis Cathedral, click on