Saturday, June 1, 2013

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi

Santa Fe, NM  High 84  Low 53 

We visited three churches in downtown Santa Fe. They are incredibly beautiful and definitely worth taking time to see.

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This cathedral was built by Archbishop Jean Baptiste Lamy between 1869 and 1886.

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St. Francis of Assisi – I’m not Catholic but he is my favorite Saint because he is the patron saint of animals.

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P1030550Kateri Tekakwitha (1656–1680) is the first North American Indian to be beatified, and was canonized in October 2012. She was an Algonquian-Mohawk woman of New York State.

 

 

 

 

P1030528 During the restoration of 1986, new doors were created, each with ten bronze panels that portray events in the history of the church in Santa Fe.

 

 

 

 

 

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P1030535 The baptismal font is in the center of the nave. Made of Brazilian granite, it was dedicated on June 3, 2001 by Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan.

 

P1030536 The eight-sided form represents the 8th day, or Easter, The basin is a cruciform, with three steps representative of the 3 days between Jesus'  crucifixion and his resurrection. The rill symbolizes the four Evangelists, who cast their nets to catch men.

It is just so beautiful. I couldn’t decide which pictures to post.

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P1030544 In 1626, Fray Alonso Benavides brought Our Lady of the Rosary to Santa Fe. She was renamed La Conquistadora in honor of what was believed to be her peaceful acceptance by the natives

And then there is the modern touch.

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13 comments:

  1. Whenever I saw a statue of him, I stopped. always a garden of some kind.

    I always enjoy seeing churches / cathedrals ~ the old ones. even the little wooden country ones ... I'm not a church goer but there is a peace and stillness inside most. little chapels ... and boy! that sounds like some great music .. look at that

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  2. Although expensive, Santa Fe is a beautiful city with much to see. The green chile cheeseburgers at Second Street Brewery are a must!

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  3. Santa Fe sure has a lot of interesting things to see. It's a super place to be this time of year when there's no snow and it's not too hot.

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  4. I love the old stained glass windows...absolutely beautiful!

    I do think Santa Fe will go on our list! We haven't been there yet!

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  5. Visiting a cathedral, church, really any religious building is a treat for us. I love the alter. So moving.

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  6. The workmanship is amazing! Wish RV builders would apply some of it to RVs.

    So nice that these places are open not just for worship but for tours, too. Sort of like a heavenly art museum. :c)

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  7. This remains one of my very favorite churches to visit too. Stay safe from the nearby wildfires!

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  8. Great pictures of the church. We also love to go into old or small churches to admire them. Traveling like we do, we've been in a variety of churches, but our favorite is St. Peters in Big Pine Key, FL. Gerry helped make the stain glass windows for the church.

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  9. Santa Fe is a great city, so much to see. There is a great Mexican restaurant there that I think is called Marie's. Wonderful enchiladas if you get a chance.

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  10. We have been in the St.Francis of Assisi Cathedral. It is gorgeous! Hope you are not bothered by smoke from the wild fires around town.

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  11. Gorgeous.The little church around the corner from our home is over 100 years old. as town grew from 750 to 12M they built a huge new modern one, its pretty but not the feel of the beauty of the old craftmenship.
    Donna W

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  12. We love churches too, thanks for the tour of a nice one.

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  13. Now I just learned something new for the day - I didn't know that St. Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of animals.

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Thanks for visiting today. I look forward to reading your comments. Have a beautiful day.