In this posting, we'll take a look at the decorations of the facade and steeple, as well as some of the interior features of the church. Since the native people were illiterate, the Spanish used statues, relief carvings, paintings, and various visual symbols to explain Biblical stories and Christian themes. Fra. Junipero Serra was the overall superintendent of construction for the five missions. He decided to incorporate various pre-Hispanic indigenous symbols to encourage the native people to accept Catholic teachings. This strategy was one of the more benign aspects of the Spiritual Conquest, which did have its grimmer side.
The route from Jalpan de Serra to Landa de Matamoros . This is one of the easiest missions to find. Simply take Highway 120 west from Jalpan 21.9 km (13.6 mi) toward Xilitla . The drive takes about 1/2 hour. Shortly after entering Landa de Matamoros , you will see the two-story Hotel Misión on your left. Turn there onto Calle Cinco de Mayo , a street that passes in front of the hotel as it angles off to the left. Follow Cinco de Mayo three blocks until you see the Mission on the left side of the street. For instructions on getting to Jalpan de Serra from Lago de Chapala or the Guadalajara area, see Part 1 of this series.
A painting of Fra. Junipero Serra hangs inside the church . Junipero Serra was a Franciscan friar who was a major figure in the era of colonial evangelism. He is best remembered for his epic journey up through the rugged deserts of the Baja peninsula and into California. Serra founded 9 of the 21 Franciscan missions in California . However, prior to this journey, he spent almost a decade supervising the missions in the Sierra Gorda and overseeing the construction of their churches and cloisters.
The Mission's church, cloister, and grassy atrium. The view is from the gate off Calle Cinco de Mayo . All five missions were built according to the same general plan. Each has a single bell tower on the left of its church and each church has an elaborate facade. Finally, each complex has a cloister (work and living area) to the right of the church. The entrance to the cloister is the large arched opening you can see above. Despite these overall similarities, each of the missions differs in their details. This is particularly the case with the facades.
In the center of the atrium is the atrial cross. Atriums are large open spaces in front of a church that are bounded by a low wall. This atrium has gates on each of its three sides. The one you see on the upper right is the gate through which I took the first photo of this posting. Atriums are used for ceremonial gatherings and processions that are too large to be conducted inside a church. In the early days of evangelism, they were used for mass conversions of indigenous people. The atrial cross above is still used during various outdoor religious ceremonies.
The bell tower has openings for numerous bells . The unusually narrow structure has two highly-decorated levels, with fourteen arched openings for bells. The lower level has eight openings capable of hanging two bells a piece. The upper level contains six openings which can handle one bell each. Separating the openings are stipite columns in the Baroque style called Churrigueresque or Rocco.
The niche above the entrance arch contains a statue of the Virgin Mary. Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is the version of Mary for whom the church is named. Above her, two winged cherubs hold open some curtains. To her left and right are two angels swinging incense burners. If you look closely, you can see the carvings that represent rising smoke. All around these figures are vines, flowers, and other local native plants. As usual with Churrigueresque architecture, all available space is filled with decorations. The screen that covers these sculptures is to protect them from pigeon damage.
Above and to the left of Mary's statue is a relief carving of John Duns Scotus. He sits at a cloth-covered table with this left hand on an open book and his right holding a quill pen. Across from him is a maiz (corn) plant with several ripe cobs. Duns Scotus ("Duns the Scot") was a Catholic theologian from Scotland. Among other things, he is famous for his defense of the Immaculate Conception. This idea asserts that not only was Jesus the product of a virgin birth, but that his mother Mary was herself immaculately conceived. However, none of this is described in the Bible nor are Mary's parents mentioned there.
Above and to the right of Mary is a relief of Maria de Jesús de Ágrada. She was the abbess of a Franciscan convent who was another avid advocate of the Immaculate Conception and a prolific writer on a variety of theological topics. Like Duns Scotus, she sits at a table with a book and quill pen and faces a corn plant. Corn originated in Mexico and the cobs which face both her and Duns Scotus were one of the indigenous themes encouraged by Junipero Serra to make the Church more relatable to native people.
Above the statue of the Virgin is the choir window, flanked by important symbols. The choir window lights the choir loft, located above and behind the seating area of the church. The two theologians just described are in the lower left and right corners. Next to the window are two large relief carvings of the Franciscan Coat of Arms (left) and. the Five Stigmata (right). Above them on either side are two cherubs. Each holds part of a rope, which dangles down the sides of the choir window. The rope represents the cord the friars used as a belt for their cassocks and symbolizes Franciscan simplicity.
The facade's top section has two statues and multiple relief carvings . At the very top is a niche containing the Archangel Michael, who stands with wings spread, brandishing a sword and trampling a dragon-like creature representing Satan. Just below is another niche with a figure who may be St. Lawrence ( San Lorenzo ). One of my sources mentions that St. Lawrence is one of the statues, but doesn't identify which one. My main clues are the palm frond in his right hand (representing martyrdom) and the grille he holds with his left.
Beautiful pillars support the arch over the entrance. This left-side pillar and the one on the right, as well as the arch they support, are all beautifully painted in a color scheme that is unique among the five missions. The base panels to the left and right of the two pillars contain intricate floral designs typical of the Churrigueresque style.
Statues in niches to the left of the entrance. Both the middle statue and the smaller one on its right have had their heads knocked off. This probably occurred during the Revolution (1910-17) or the Cristero War (1926-29) . Anti-Catholic feeling was high during both periods because of the perception that the Church was supportive of wealthy owners of haciendas and businesses and thus complicit in the oppression of the people. All three statues hold banners, which provides a clue to the identity of the one in the middle. Keep in mind that all my statue identifications are tentative except for the Virgin Mary and Archangel Michael.
John the Baptist prepares to immerse Jesus in the River Jordan . This famous New Testament scene hangs in the small baptismal room near the entrance of the nave. In addition to the painting, the room contains the baptismal font, which is a stone bowl on a pedestal. The bowl contains water, which is considered central to life. According to Catholic belief, baptism absolves a person of original sin, all personal sin, and all punishments due to sin. With limited exceptions, a person must be baptized in order to be "saved", (go to heaven after death).
Ceiling decoration in the nave . This shows the Archangel Michael ( Saint Michael ) in armor and wearing a Roman-style helmet, while holding a shield in his right hand and a cross in his left. His foot is on a creature who represents Satan. Archangel Michael is believed to lead the armies of heaven and to have cast Satan out so that he would no longer have the ear of God. Revered by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Michael is believed to be the chief of all the angels and to stand at the right hand of God.
Overview
Atrium, Cloister and Bell Tower
The bell tower of the Franciscan church in Ajijic where I live doesn't have as many bells as this but, when they are occasionally rung all together, they create a deafening cacophony. If all the openings above were filled with bells to the maximum of their capacity, and all were all rung simultaneously, I can barely imagine the uproar.
The area around the front entrance of a church is called its facade . Mission Nuestra Señora de la Concepción Purisima de Landa is often described as having the most elaborate and beautiful church facade of the five missions. Its thirteen niches contain statues of the Virgin and various saints. Of these thirteen statues, I have only been able to identify two definitely and to tentatively identify three others. Consequently, I will focus on these, because to include all thirteen would be somewhat tedious
The Facade
In addition to all the statues in the niches, the facade has relief carvings of two important Franciscan theologians. Along with these are more reliefs of cherubs, angels, mermaids, and a great deal of vegetation native to Mexico. To start we'll take a look at the niche just above the center of the entrance arch and then work our way up to the top of the facade.
John Duns Scotus (1265-1308) was a theologian, priest, and Franciscan friar. He lectured at the universities of Oxford and Paris and is considered among the four top philosopher-theologians of Western Europe's High Middle Ages. The idea of Mary's Immaculate Conception was a matter of dispute within the Church for centuries. Duns Scotus' defense of it was influential but, in later centuries, those who objected to his writings disparaged his followers as "dunces", which is the origin of the term.
Maria de Jesús was born in 1602 in Ágreda in the province of Soria , Spain. Pious as a child, she decided to enter a convent at age 12. About this time, her mother Catalina had a vision telling her to convert the family home into a convent for the Order of the Immaculate Conception (a branch of the Franciscans). Her family strongly objected, but her mother went ahead anyway. Catalina , her daughter Maria , and another sister all entered the Order together and launched the convent. After her mother died, Maria was elected abbess (head) of the convent at age 25 and ran it for the next 38 years until her death in 1665.
Although she was born 300 years after the death of Duns Scotus, the Immaculate Conception dispute was still going on. During her time as abbess, Maria published material advocating for the Immaculate Conception, as well as 14 other religious books. She also corresponded with Spain's King Phillip IV for 22 years. After the Inquisition banned some of her books, King Phillip protected her and allowed them to be published within his kingdom. Since her death, she has been proposed for sainthood numerous times and was elevated to the status of "Venerable". However, to date, sainthood has eluded her.
The Franciscan Order's emblem is its Coat of Arms , composed of two human arms nailed to a cross by their hands. The robed arm represents St. Francis ( San Francisco ) and the bare arm represents Jesus. The Five Sigmata are the injuries inflicted on Jesus during his crucifixion. They include wounds to the hands and feet from nails and to the side by a Roman spear. Stigmatics are people who spontaneously bleed at places similar to those of Jesus' wounds and St. Francis was the first recorded stigmatic. However, around 80% of today's stigmatics are reported to be women.
According to the legend, St. Lawrence (225-258 AD) was a Christian deacon in Rome who was executed on the orders of Emperor Valerian. The method used was to roast him alive on a grill. During this process, he is reported to have cheerfully said "I'm well done on this side, turn me over." St. Lawrence is the patron saint of cooks, chefs, and comedians and his feast day is sometimes celebrated by holding barbecues. Modern scholars dispute the roasting account, claiming it is due to a mis-translation. They suggest that he was most likely beheaded. I think these folks are just killjoys. I prefer the old story!
On either side of the St. Lawrence statue are two large plaques. The one on the right shows Jesus being beaten and whipped by Roman soldiers. On the left, two of his followers remove his body from the cross so that it can be taken to his tomb. On either side of these two plaques are stipite columns supported by mermaids with the features of indigenous women. This is another example of Junipero Serra including elements in his church decorations that would appeal to native people.
St. John of Capistrano (1386-1456) was a Franciscan friar who preached throughout Europe at a time of great turmoil. The Black Plague killed as much as 1/3 of the population. Wars raged among the European dynasties. In 1453, the Muslim Turks conquered Constantinople, the capitol of Eastern Christianity. St. John helped lead a campaign (thus the banners) against the Turks and helped lift their siege of Belgrade. Warrior-priests were not uncommon during the Middle Ages or the Renaissance period which followed it. St. John of Capistrano died from an infection, shortly after the victory over the Turks.
St. Paul stands in a niche across from St. Peter . His niche is to the right of the plaque with the Five Stigmata. His niche is framed by a pair of stipite columns, similar to that of St. Peter. St. Paul stands with his hand resting on the hilt of a downward-pointing sword. The saint is often portrayed in this manner, which helped me to tentatively identify him. The weapon is not meant to be a literal sword, but represents the power of the spirit. In his letters to various early Christian groups, he often used the armor and weapons of Roman soldiers as metaphors for how the faithful should protect and arm themselves spiritually.
The church has a single nave, ending in the apse containing the altar . Unlike the facade and bell tower , the nave is very simple and sparsely decorated. This is probably due to a 19th century redecoration in the more severe Neo-Classic style . Such changes are typical of what happened with many Mexican churches originally built in the florid Churrigueresque Baroque style of the 17th and 18th centuries.
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception stands in a niche of the main altar. A pair of cherubs hold a crown they are preparing to place on her head, while two additional cherubs flutter at her feet. The crown is meant to symbolize both Mary's divine queenship and the Virgin's purity. The two Greco-Roman columns supporting the arch over her head are expressions of the Neo-Classic style. The fresh flowers and banners are related to a religious fiesta that was taking place around the time of our visit.
St. Peter stands in a niche directly above St. John of Capistrano . This niche is to the left of the Franciscan Coat of Arms. The statue holds a book with the left hand. Since his right hand is missing, it is impossible to tell whether he is making a gesture or holding an object with it. St. Peter was one of the Twelve Apostles and was a major leader in the earliest days of Christianity. According to Church tradition, he was the first Bishop (or Pope) of Rome and was martyred by Emperor Nero sometime between 64-68 AD. The statue stands across from another which may be St. Paul. The two are often shown together.
Interior of the Mission Church
According to the New Testament and other sources , John the Baptist was later impressed by King Herod Antipas because he criticized the King for divorcing his wife and then marrying his brother's ex-wife. The Bible says John was beheaded at the request of the King's new wife. However, Josephus, a contemporary Jewish historian says it was because Herod feared John's influence over the people of Galilee and that he might incite a rebellion. According to the story, John's head was presented on a platter to the King and his new wife.
Francis of Assisi ( San Francisco ) was the founder of the Franciscan Order. He was especially devoted to Archangel Michael because he believed in Michael's great power as a protector against evil. Consequently, the Archangel's image is often found in Franciscan churches such as the ones attached to the Sierra Gorda missions.
This completes Part 9 of my Sierra Gorda series. I hope you have enjoyed it and, if so, you will leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question in the Comments, please include your email so that I may respond in a timely manner.
See you later, Jim
