La Conquistadora facts for kids
La Conquistadora (meaning Our Lady of the Conquest) is a special wooden statue of the Madonna and Child (the Virgin Mary and baby Jesus). You can find her in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She was the very first statue of the Virgin Mary brought to what is now the United States. The statue is carved from wood and stands about three feet tall.
A Catholic group called La Cofradía de La Conquistadora helps take care of the statue. Their job is to promote devotion to the Virgin Mary under the name La Conquistadora – Our Lady of Peace. They also maintain her chapels at the Cathedral Basilica and the Rosario Chapel. The statue has a huge collection of clothing, veils, crowns, jewels, and wigs. A person called the sacristana dresses the statue. Sometimes, hair for the wigs is donated by cancer survivors. Many of her beautiful outfits are sewn and given by people who admire her. She has nearly 300 different outfits! Even people who are not Catholic sometimes honor the statue. For example, actress Ali MacGraw had a special piece of art made for an exhibit about the statue in 2010.
No one knows exactly when the statue was made, but it was likely between the 15th and 17th centuries. Spanish explorers brought many statues of the Virgin Mary with them on their travels to the Americas. Armies often carried statues of saints into battle for various reasons. The exact date the statue arrived in the New World is not known. However, a priest named Fray Alonso de Benavides brought her to New Mexico from Mexico City. She arrived in Santa Fe on January 25, 1626. Benavides wrote about this date in his journal, but the church often uses the date 1625. La Conquistadora was first known as Our Lady of the Assumption.
Each new generation gave the statue a new name. Her current name, La Conquistadora, was given by Don Diego de Vargas. He named her after he successfully returned to Santa Fe 12 years after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. He believed La Conquistadora helped him in his efforts. To show thanks, the Fiesta de Santa Fe is held every August. During this festival, the statue is carried in a procession to Rosario Chapel, and special masses are held in her honor. In 1992, Archbishop Robert Sanchez gave the statue another name: Our Lady of Peace. On June 26, 1960, Pope John XXIII officially recognized the statue with a special ceremony called a canonical coronation.
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What Does La Conquistadora Look Like?
The statue of La Conquistadora is about 30 inches tall, which is a little less than three feet. She usually wears a dark brown wig, often covered by a long veil. Sometimes her wig is almost as long as her body! Since she represents the Virgin Mary, her clothes often include the color blue. She has many outfits, possibly around 300. The colors of her outfits vary, but many are blue and white with gold decorations.
Sometimes, she wears a golden crown. This might be connected to the idea of the Assumption of the Madonna. This belief says that Mary was taken up to Heaven and given a golden crown as the queen of Heaven. The statue sometimes holds a small figure of the infant Jesus Christ. People from Holy Cross, Alaska, even gifted the statue an ermine cape.
Where Did La Conquistadora Come From?
The exact origin of La Conquistadora is still a mystery. Some experts believe she was created during the Renaissance period, which lasted from the 14th to the 17th centuries. They think this because La Conquistadora often holds a statue of baby Jesus. This was a popular theme for artists during the Renaissance, known as the Maesta or Madonna and Child. Famous artists like Cimabue and Leonardo da Vinci painted this subject.
However, La Conquistadora does not always hold the infant statue. The baby Jesus figure was made at a different time by a different carver. This means the two statues might have been put together later. Sometimes, La Conquistadora holds a rosary or an orb with a cross. During Santa Fe's annual Indian Market, the statue is dressed in Native American clothing, including a manta.
A writer named Jaima Chevalier found new information about the wood used to make the statue. This information helps to guess the time it was made using a method called dendrochronology (tree-ring dating) from the University of Arizona. Chevalier's book shows that church officials Fray Angelico Chavez and Pedro Ribera-Ortega were very important in using modern ways to date the wood. Her book also proves that the statue was made from two different types of wood, making its history even more interesting and unclear.
Journey to New Mexico
When the Americas were being settled by Europeans, La Conquistadora was brought from Mexico City. Fray Alonso de Benavides carried her to Santa Fe de Nuevo México. At this time, she was called Nuestra Señora de La Asunción (Our Lady of the Assumption). Her purpose was to bring comfort to the new settlers.
Later, she became a traveling companion for future governor Don Diego de Vargas. He renamed her La Conquistadora. He brought her back from El Paso del Norte when he led a mission to reclaim New Mexico from the Pueblo peoples. By carrying the statue with him, de Vargas hoped that the lands could be taken back peacefully.
Fiesta de Santa Fe Celebration
After La Conquistadora returned to Santa Fe in 1693, a festival was started to celebrate the return of the state. This yearly thanksgiving procession still happens today. It is the oldest Marian festival in the United States. La Conquistadora is carried in a procession from the Cathedral to Rosario Chapel, where special masses are held.
Once these masses are finished, the statue is brought back, and the main Fiesta de Santa Fe celebrations begin. Parades and mariachi music are common at the festival. A main part of the Fiesta de Santa Fe is the burning of “Zozobra," also known as "Old Man Gloom." Zozobra is a huge 50-foot-tall puppet that represents the problems and difficulties from the past year. Artist Will Shuster designed Zozobra.
New Name: Our Lady of Peace
In 1992, La Conquistadora was given a new name: Our Lady of Peace. Archbishop Robert Sanchez gave her this new title. The name change was meant to help ease tensions between the Spanish descendants and the original Native American people of the New World. She is also sometimes called Our Lady of Conquering Love, which captures the spirit of her original name, La Conquistadora.
Images for kids
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La Conquistadora, around 2007
See also
In Spanish: Nuestra Señora La Conquistadora para niños
