Tag Archives: Santa Fe

The Story Behind Saint Francis Dancing on Water

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We had our family vacation earlier this month. Our first stop was Santa Fe, New Mexico. The morning after we got there we were eager to get outside and walk around because driving from Tulsa to Santa Fe takes a long time. Our first stop was the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi which is in the middle of downtown and adjoined out hotel. We were a little early for the Cathedral to open so we walked around the grounds of the Cathedral. I’m always looking for shadows and I came upon this sculpture.

Saint Francis Dancing on Water Sculpture - edited

It made a great shadow and the adjoining plaque said it depicts Saint Francis dancing on water. And it was like, what!?!? I am not Catholic but every depiction I have seen of Saint Francis of Assisi is that he was a very serious guy. I have never seen a painting or a sculpture of him being joyful. So that kind of jarred my thought process and I thought I have to go check this out.

Saint Francis of Paola Dancing on Water

It turns out that it is a different Saint Francis, Saint Francis of Paola, a Franciscan hermit, who modeled his life after his namesake from Assisi. He is most known for his crossing the Straits of Messina. He didn’t have enough money to take a ferry so he prayed and blessed the sea and then laid his coat down and walked across the Straits. Because of this miracle, he is regarded as the patron saint of boatmen, mariners, and sailors. I call him the Joyful Saint Francis.

I love finding out stuff like this. The interwebs can be fun!!

I am linking to Shadow Shot Sunday

My Corner of the World – The Loretto Chapel of Santa Fe

On our New Mexico vacation I finally got to go see something I had never seen before inside the Loretto Chapel. The chapel, built in the Gothic Revival style, was constructed between 1873 to 1878 and was part of Catholic girls school, the Loretto Academy, that went out of business in the 1960’s. The diocese sold it to a private company in 1968 and the girls school was demolished.

Inside the chapel is this famous miraculous staircase. It is a two full turn spiral staircase ascending to the choir loft at the back of the church. It is a beautiful and impressive sight but I’m pretty sure it is not miraculous. I tell the amazing part to me is that it didn’t have handrails when it was first constructed.

The chapel is now an event space and a kind of museum. There is a small fee for entering and you can take all the non-commercial photos you desire. It is in excellent shape. The altar above is impeccable. If you want you can book your wedding there!!

I love this statue of Jesus. One can go to the gift store to buy candles to burn here.

I’m guessing this is Mary. Again exquisite. I’m a lifelong protestant and their art is all abstract. The art in Catholic churches, chapels, and hospitals, is very emotional and colorful and engaging. (In my opinion.)

The stained glass is gorgeous.

They even had a confessional booth. I asked son Logan if he had anything he wanted to tell me. He said no.

So I’ve been looking at photos of that staircase for decades and finally go to see it!! Check!

I’m linking with My Corner of the World.

References:

Wikipedia

Loretto Chapel Site

Grunge

Skywatch Friday – The Skies of Santa Fe

On our recent New Mexico vacation we spend just one full day in Santa Fe before returning home. But we saw and did a lot in that one afternoon, and one full day afterward.

The monsoon was going on so every afternoon it would cloud up and rain. Usually just a little bit but on our final evening we had to call the hotel for help so they sent their shuttle. Saved us from getting soaking wet.

Santa Fe is a mixture of the old and the new. I remember as a little kid living in Coyote and mom would take us shopping in Santa Fe. Those art galleries and fancy shops that are there now? They used to be Woolworths, JC Penney’s, Western Auto. Lots of tourists back then as well but Santa Fe was a town where regular people lived.

It’s got some great museums. This is the courtyard at the New Mexico Museum of Art.

And food. I forget just how much I like New Mexican food until I go back. How about some chicken enchiladas with green chili sauce for lunch?

And history? Ancient history and modern history. I saw this little plaque at the back of a store. 109 East Palace was the address where everybody who worked at Los Alamos during the World War I first reported to duty. I read a book about the goings on, 109 East Palace: Robert Oppenheimer and the Secret City of Los Alamos by Jennet Conant I love reading about the makings of the Atomic Bomb way back when. It was a huge nationwide effort and involved lots of people. My mother worked as a secretary at the Hanford Nuclear Works in Washington which used a reactor to produce plutonium and chemical processing to enrich it. Plutonium from Hanford was used in the first atomic explosion in New Mexico at the Trinity site.

I’m linking with Skywatch Friday.