Guanajuato Revisited Part 12 of 17: Templo de la Compania de Jesus / Oratorio de Felipe Neri, a magnificent 18th century church built by the Jesuits

 

The facade of this old Jesuit church is somewhat deteriorated. Still, enough of the ornate Churrigueresque decorations remain to make it attractive. The church stands next to the Universidad de Guanajuato on the corner of Calle Pedro Lascuraine Retana and Calle del Sol and overlooks the Plazuela del Templo de la Compañia de Jesus. The Templo is the largest in Guanajuato and one of the largest built in Nueva España (Mexico) during the colonial period. 

It is actually known by two different names: Templo de la Compañia de Jesus and Oratorio de Felipe Neri. The reasons for this will be detailed later in this posting. In addition to discussing the architectural features I will outline the history of the church and its relationship with the Jesuit Order and the Busto y Moya family, one of the wealthiest in Guanajuato. 

The facade decorations

Above the main entrance is a panel containing three seated men. They are surrounded by seventeen winged cherub heads, a typical feature of the flamboyant Churrigueresque style. The men are probably important Jesuit figures, but I haven't been able to identify them. This panel is one of three located in ascending levels above the entrance.

Construction of the Templo was authorized by Spanish King Felipe V in 1744. It was designed by a priest named José de la Cruz. Oddly, although he was creating a Jesuit church, he was not a Jesuit himself but a member of the Betlemite Order. The first stone was laid in 1747 on July 31, San Ignacio Day (Ignacio Loyola was the founder of the Jesuit Order). The church was finally completed 18 years later, in 1765. Between then and the early 20th century, it has been remodeled numerous times.

Another figure stands in a niche above the one with three men. The male statue is also unidentified, but it may be Ignacio Loyola, particularly given the importance of the church and the central position of the niche on the facade. The wire mesh in front of the statue is intended to discourage pigeons and their droppings.

The highest panel on the facade may show King Felipe V. Again, I have no specific information on this, but it makes sense that the architects would save a place of honor for the monarch who authorized the construction.

The Naves 

The main nave. There are naves on either side, for a total of three. While the church was designed by Padre José de la Cruz, the construction was supervised by another famous architect, Felipe de Ureña. He is responsible for much of the spread of Baroque architecture throughout Mexico. This church is his most famous project and he labored on it for 18 years.

Many tall, thick columns separate the three naves. They are decorated up their center on each side by carvings in the lush, flowery Baroque style favored by Ureña. The church was built on land donated by the Busto y Mora family. They had also donated the land and original buildings of the Jesuit collegio next door, which later became the University of Guanajuato. 

Josefa Busto y Mora was a patron of the Jesuits and her family paid for most of the church's construction. Some sources credit some of the funding to the Sardaneta family, owners of the fabulous San Juan de Rayas silver mine. (See Guanajuato Revisted Part 11 and Part 8 for the story of Josefa and her family's involvement in the construction of many of Guanajuato's beautiful colonial structures).

The left side nave, looking toward the entrance. The church has nine altars, some of which are accessed off to the sides of the naves. Three of these are made of wood, and have been preserved with their original decorations.

A group of devout Catholics praying. We have found similar scenarios in many other Mexican churches we have visited even when there was no service being conducted by a  priest. When we visited, the covid pandemic was still widespread and many people wore masks.

A richly decorated confessional stands in the left side nave. This one has spots on either side for people confessing their sins to the priest who sits inside. This did not make much sense to me because a priest would probably not be listening to two confessions at once. 

A magnificent organ stands in the choir loft at the rear of the church. The organ dates to 1794. Unfortunately, the church's 29.5m high transept dome collapsed in 1808, due to structural changes ordered by the Mayor of Guanajuato. He wanted to provide more decoration to it but, when the pilasters supporting the dome were narrowed, they could not support the added weight. 

The instrument was not used from then until it was finally restored in 1890. The organ overlooks the right side nave. Behind it, you can see some large paintings of biblical scenes.

The altar area

The main altar stands at the far end of the main nave. The altar is devoted to one of the many versions of the Virgin Mary whose statue stands in the central niche. Although the construction of the great church was finally completed in 1765, the Jesuits were only to enjoy it for two years. In 1767, King Carlos III of Spain ordered the expulsion of Jesuits from his entire Empire.

The expulsion was part of Europe-wide move toward absolute monarchy which resulted in the Jesuit's expulsion from many kingdoms. The monarchs saw the Jesuits, who reported directly to the Pope and not to a king or queen, as a threat to their power. They also envied the great wealth the Jesuits had accumulated. After the expulsion, many monarchs profited greatly from the sale of the Jesuit holdings.

To the left of the niche is a crucified Jesus. This may be one of those created by craftsmen from paste made from corn stalks and shipped throughout Mexico to decorate its many churches. These corn paste statues are amazingly realistic, showing ever detail of the body. The craftsmen were highly skilled indigenous sculptors located in Michoacan.

Following the expulsion of the Jesuits, their great church stood empty for many years. There were already many churches in Guanajuato and the other Orders hesitated to assume the expense of maintaining it. It is also possible that there was a stigma attached to the church because of the expulsion.

Finally, in 1773, a priest of the Order of San Felipe Neri named D. Nicolas Peres de Arquitegui proposed making the church the Oratory of his Order. This is how the church gained its second name: Oratorio de San Felipe Neri. An oratory is a structure, other than a parish church, set aside for prayer and the celebration of mass.

It took another 3 years for King Charles III to approve the takeover by the new Order. In the meantime, Padre D. Nicolas Peres de Arquitegui had gone insane and died in 1785. More years passed before the changeover was complete and the Order could finally use their Oratorio. 

Painting of St. Matthias, carrying an axe. This seemed, at first, to be an odd object for a saint to be carrying around. It is an apparent reference to the method by which he was martyred. St. Matthias was reputed to have been a close associate of Jesus and was selected to be the Twelfth Apostle, replacing Judas.

Plazuela de la Compañia

A woman walks past a remarkable wolf and fish fountain. The sculpture stands just below the Templo de la Compania de Jesus / Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, at the corner of Calle del Sol and Calle Ayuntamiento. I have not been able to find out anything about its history or meaning or the name of the sculptor. It is nonetheless an eye-catching addition to the area.

Water drips from the muzzle of a wolf into a bowl. The face of this wolf reminds me of a similar sculpture from the pre-hispanic Toltec culture (700-1000 AD). I saw it years before in the National Museum of History and Anthropology in Mexico City. There is a long tradition, beginning right at the start of the Conquest, of indigenous craftsmen creating animal images from their own cultures to decorate post-Conquest buildings. 

Fantastic fish support the bottom of the sculpture. These are similar to the fish supporting the fountain at Plaza Baratillo, near the Jardin de la Union. The similarity suggests that the sculptor may be the same person, although I still don't have a name. Water from the bowl under the wolf's head drains down to shoot out of the mouths of the fish.

Cafe Tal

Cafe Tal stands across the street from the former Jesuit church. This little cafe is about as large as a walk-in closet and it was tended by a very cheerful and friendly young woman. She is probably a student at the nearby University, working this job to make ends meet. 

A romantic tragedy occurred nearby in the Plazuela de los Carcamanes. It was named for two brothers who loved the same woman. When one brother was informed by someone in the church of the relationship, he immediately went in search of his sibling and the lady in question. Finding them together, he became infuriated, killed them both, and then committed suicide over their corpses.

The Cafe Tal serves coffee that is not only tasty but well decorated. Carole and I had enjoyed our visit to this famous church and its pleasant little plaza. A nice rest in the shade with a good cup of coffee was just the right touch to end this stage of our visit to Guanajuato.

This completes Part 12 of my Guanajuato Revisited series. I hope you have enjoyed it. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. If you leave a question, please include your email address so that I may respond promptly.

Hasta luego, Jim

Guanajuato Revisited Part 11 of 17: Mini-Plazas, Unique Museums, Colonial-era Architecture, and Guanajuato's University

Bronze sculpture of Enrique Ruelas Espinoza. The statue was sculpted in 1999 by Mexican artist Glenda Hecksher and is located next to the 18th century Templo San Roque. Enrique Ruelas Espinoza (1913-1987) was a major figure in Mexican theatre and cinema. He was the founder of Guanajuato's world-famous Cervantino Festival, scheduled in 2023 for October 11-29. The Festival grew out of the Guanajuato's University Theater, which Espinoza founded and directed.

In this posting, I will show some of the treasures we encountered as we strolled through the Centro area of Guanajuato. These include small plazas, sometimes called plazuelas, which often include bronze statues of local luminaries. Dotted along the way will be some unique museums, colonial architecture, and the main campus of the University of Guanajuato. Keep in mind that I am only providing a taste of what is here. There is much more to see if you take the time.

Templo San Roque was once the chapel of a hacienda. In 1651, a small chapel was built by the Cofradia de Misericórdias (Brotherhood of Mercy) on the Templo's current site. It was replaced in 1726, when local priest Don José de Sopeña y Cevera built a new chapel for the Hacienda de Beneficio San Francisco Cervera, an ore processing facility. From 1746-1794 the Templo was the home of the Holy School of Christ, described as "an enigmatic religious order initiated by Father Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro." 

The area in front of the Templo used to be the graveyard of the church but is now called Plaza San Roque. It is surrounded by small stores and private homes whose architecture has survived from colonial times. In 1953, Enrique Ruelas began to use the Plaza for an event that he called Entremés Cervantino. This was the origin of the Cervantino Festival, which was formally established in 1972. Plaza San Roque is still a venue for some Cervantino activities. 

The Templo was built in Baroque style. The interior contains statues of the Virgen del Rosario, San Roque, and Santo Domingo. Unfortunately, we never saw them because the church was locked each time we came by. Below the surface of the Plaza are burial sites for many of those killed in 1810, when Father Miguel Hidalgo's army stormed the nearby Alhondiga, a public granary being used as a fortress by the Spanish royalists. It was the first battle in the War of Independence.

The tree-shaded Plazuela San Fernando is surrounded by restaurants, bars, and cafés. The Plazuela was named after both San Fernando (the saint) and King Fernando VII of Spain (1784-1833). Founded in1863, Plazuela San Fernando has become a venue for exhibitions of books, artwork, and crafts. 

Like nearby San Roque Plaza, this site was at one time part of the Hacienda de San Francisco de Cervera. This area was once called "the ovens", probably because this is where wood-fired ovens were used to process silver ore. 

Calle Positos

Carole walks up a steep callejon (alleyway) on the way to Calle Positos. Many of Guanajuato's streets, like Calle Positos, run parallel along the hills surrounding the city. To get from one to another of these parallel streets sometimes requires trudging up the steep callejones that connect them.

Once on Calle Positos, we soon came to Museo Casa Diego Rivera. This three-story Neo-Classic house was the birthplace, in 1886, of the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera and where he lived during his childhood. The house was turned into a museum in 1975. Of the three stories, the first floor is decorated with 19th century furniture. The second has seven rooms containing some of Rivera's art work. The third floor has a lecture hall and public library.

Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Primaro Deposito. This is yet another elegant old home on Calle Positos that is now a museum. Inside is a permanent display of bronze statues by sculptors like Leonera Carrington, José Luis Cuevas and others. Temporary exhibits of other artists are displayed periodically. 

The museum was created by Javier de Jesús Hernández Capelo as a way to promote art in Guanajuato through the cooperative efforts of artists, art directors, and other professionals in the art world. Unfortunately, like the Templo San Roque and the Diego Rivera house, it was closed when we came by. It is always a good idea to check in advance about such things. In Mexico, assume nothing. 

Former home of the Sardaneta family, owners of the San Juan de Rayas mine. The site now houses the Museo del Pueblo (People's Museum). The Sardanetas became one of Guanajuato's immensely wealthy mining families in the 18th century. The San Juan de Rayas mine was so successful that, in 1774, King Charles III awarded the title of 1st Marqués de San Juan de Rayas to the man who headed the family, Vicente Manuel Sardaneta y Legaspi. 

However, the sign to the right of the door dates the house to 1696, well before Vicente caused the family fortune to skyrocket. Pedro Sardaneta, grandfather of Vicente, was the head of the family in 1696 and was most likely the one who ordered the house to be built. The Museo del Pueblo was established in the Sardaneta house in 1979 and has five salons dedicated to paintings of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Entrance to the former chapel of the Sardaneta house. The chapel is located on the upper floor of the house. The Churrigueresque-style entrance was created in 1776. The sculptor may have been Felipe de Ureña, who was a major influence in the spread of this style throughout Mexico during 18th century. His particular take on Churrigueresque even has its own subcategory called felipense. 

Although Ureña is most often credited as the artist who created this entrance, there are some who have doubts. Richard Perry is my expert on Mexican colonial religious art and his research indicates that Ureña may have been in Oaxaca in 1776. Other uncertainties about Ureña include the dates of his birth and death. 

Mural by José Chávez Morado (1909-2002).  This large mural, one of three by Morado in the chapel, is entitled "Fractured Pilaster". It depicts scenes from the end of the Viceroyalty period and the beginning of the Independence War. 

Morado was a member of the generation that followed the great muralists of the 1930s, including Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco, and David Alfaro Siqueiros. He has been called the last of Mexico's great muralists. Although Morado took some classes early in his career, he was largely self-taught.

Universidad de Guanajuato

The Museo del Pueblo stands next to the University of Guanajuato. Above, a young woman walks out of the narrow slot that is Calle Positos into the light and the airy space in front of the University's main building. At the point where the woman is stepping, Calle Positos ends and Calle Pedro Lascurain de Retana begins. It is not unusual for the name of a Mexican street to change several times along its length. 

A magnificent staircase rises up to the main entrance. As I related in Part 8 of this series, the University originated as the Holy Trinity School, founded in 1732 by Josefa Teresa de Busto y Moya, a prominent figure in another of Guanajuato's wealthy mining families. 

Josefa donated 7500 pesos of her own money and one of her houses to get the school started. In addition, she raised funds from other mine owners to provide for on-going operations. The Jesuit Order was brought in to run the school, because they had made it part of their mission to create educational institutions for the children of the elite in Nueva España (Mexico).

During the film "Once Upon a Time in Mexico", starring 

Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Johnny Depp and others, I was surprised to see this grand staircase appear briefly, because the movie was set in Mexico City. Artistic license, I guess. 

Calle Pedro Lascurain de Retana passes in front of the University. In the next block, you can see the campanario (bell tower) of the Oratorio de Felipe Neri, one of Guanajuato's most magnificent churches. Pedro Lascurain de Retana (1674-1744) was one of the University's co-founders. He had emigrated from Spain to Guanajuato in the late 17th century. After entering the mining business at a young age, Pedro became very successful and soon became part of the town's wealthy elite.

When Pedro Lascurain de Retana died in 1744, his will donated four haciendas to provide the school with on-going financial support. That same year, after a twelve-year delay, King Felipe V gave the school the Crown's official approval. However, in 1767, King Carlos III banished the Jesuits from Spain and all its possessions. The school was closed, but finally reopened after 18 years. 

Young lovers enjoy a moment in another plazuela. Behind them, a spectator looks on with amusement. It's not clear whether he was amused at the kiss or at me for taking the photo. 

After it re-opened in 1785, the school gained the support of Guanajuato's Mayor Antonio de Riaño y Bárcenas, who provided classes and professors and added courses in mathematics, physics, chemistry and French. Unfortunately, in 1810 the Mayor was killed in the battle at the Alhondiga. However, others stepped forward to keep the institution going in the succeeding decades . 

In 1827, the state government took over the school and its name was changed to "College of Immaculate Conception". In addition, Guanajuato's State Governor Carlos Montes de Oca decreed that higher education should be paid for by the state. In 1867, the name of the school was changed again to "National College of  Guanajuato". The school finally got its current name, "University of Guanajuato", in 1945. As of 2023, the University offers 13 doctorate programs, 39 masters degrees and 65 bachelor's degrees to 17,000 students.

This completes Part 11 of my Guanajuato Revisited series. I hope you enjoyed it and, if so, that you will please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below or email me directly. Please remember to include your email address so that I may respond in a timely manner.

Hasta luego, Jim

 

Guanajuato Revisited Part 10 of 17: Capilla de San Gonzalo de Amarante, the oldest part of Templo de Merced de Mellado

The Capilla de San Gonzalo de Amarante is the oldest part of the Templo. San Gonzalo de Amarante (1187-1259) was a Portuguese Dominican friar and hermit known for his silence and solitude as well as the many miracles he performed during his lifetime. The dates of his life show that he was a contemporary of San Pedro Nolasco, the founder of the Mercedario Order. However, I could find no indication that they ever met or knew of each other.

The Bustos y Moya family built the original chapel in the late 17th century. That was at a time when most mine workers were free to search for better wages and working conditions at other mines, or even other cities. The construction of the chapel was done, in part, because the mine owners needed a stable labor pool. Providing easy access to religious facilities was one way to encourage the workers to stay in the immediate area.  

When, in 1752, the family invited the Mercedarios to establish a convent near their Mellado mine, they donated the site, along with the chapel and its associated structures. This chapel is the most decrepit part of the Templo and shows a lot of water damage on the ceiling and side walls. There is much talk about restoration and, hopefully, something will come of these proposals. Still, the damage did lend an air of antiquity to the place that I liked.

The tiles on the aisle to the altar have a floral Baroque style. Like the rest of the chapel, the tiles are also damaged, including some that are entirely missing. Even so, the aisle must have been particularly lovely when it was in its original condition.

The Mercedarios had 250 friars in Latin American at the start of the 17th century but, by 1750, this number had grown to 1,200. Their main focus was Central America, where they eventually established 29 convents. However, they didn't establish convents in Mexico until 1594 and it wasn't until 1616 that these became their own "province", independent of the one governing the Order's convents in Guatemala.

While raising ransom money remained the core activity of the Order,  the Mercedarios soon had a second focus: evangelization of the New World's indigenous people. The Order had its greatest successes in the more remote areas which were generally ignored by the other religious orders. I could find no evidence that the friars ransomed anyone captured by the indigenous people. Such captures definitely occurred, but loss of faith through pagan conversions posed little danger.

San Gonzalo de Amarante was sometimes called El Bailador. The term in Spanish means "The Dancer". During the Middle Ages, a tradition began of dancing in front of his image to alleviate illness or promote fertility in women. The harp and violin on the altar next to San Gonzalo are references to his nickname. In 1816, the Inquisition prohibited the dancing but, in Mexico, the practice continued in Guanajuato and Guadalajara until the late 19th century. 

A statue of the Virgin Mary stands above and behind San Gonzalo. She is holds up a rosary, which relates to a Dominican legend dating back to 1206. In that year, a Dominican friar named Dominic de Guzmán was attempting to woo the Albigensian heretics back to Catholicism. According to the story, the Virgin appeared to him and gave him a rosary to use as a tool in his efforts. Ever after, this version of Mary has been called Nuestra Señora de la Rosary (Our Lady of the Rosary).

A statue of a male saint stands in a niche to the left of the Virgin Mary. Although the statue carries no identification, when images of a man and a woman are placed on either side of Mary, they are usually meant to represent her parents, San Joachim and Santa Ana. Mary's parents are not mentioned anywhere in the Bible's New Testament and, like so many traditional Church stories, everything about them was invented centuries after Jesus' time. 

Santa Ana, Mary's mother, is portrayed with very short hair. I found that somewhat odd for a period in which long hair on women was the norm. In addition, her hair appears to be blonde, although it may be that the statue's sculptor intended it to be the white hair of an older woman.

A painting of San Agustin hangs on one of the chapel walls. When the Pedro Nolasco and his Mercedarios got permission to found their own Order, they needed a set of rules to follow. Pope Gregory IX decided they should use the ones created by San Agustin for his Augustinian Order, when he established it in 397 AD. These are the oldest rules for monastic life in the Western Church and are quite simple compared to other religious orders.

The rules of San Agustin "value community life over seeking for oneself. All members are to share what they have and are to receive according to their need. All work is to be accomplished for the common good of all. All members are to exercise mutual care and vigilance over one another and the sick are a special obligation in the community. Anyone who offends another must ask for pardon and receive forgiveness as soon as possible. Prayer at fixed times is essential."

This corner of the chapel shows considerable water damage. The painting, which has also been damaged, is of the Virgin Mary and her husband San José fleeing Bethlehem after being warned of King Herod's plan to kill all the first-born children. Mary holds Jesus while seated on a donkey led by an angel. San José stands on the right side of the painting. 

Another painting is slightly less damaged. The scene in the painting appears to reference San Gonzalo's enthusiasm for love and marriage. In the scene, a man and woman face each other while kneeling and holding hands. Standing over them, and appearing to bless them, is a man wearing a ceremonial hat and robe. This painting may represent a marriage being performed by San Gonzalo himself. 

This completes Part 10 of my Guanajuato Revisited 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, please remember to include your email address so that I may respond to you in a timely fashion.

Hasta luego, Jim

Guanajuato Revisited Part 9 of 17: The Mercedario Order and the rescue of Christian slaves.

San Pedro Nolasco, founder of the Mercedarios. Nolasco stands over a freed slave, wearing the robe of a Mercedario. The robe's white color, a symbol of purity, was authorized by Bishop Berenguer of Barcelona's Catedral de la Santa Cruz. Barcelona was the capital of the Principality of Catalonia, a part of the Kingdom of Aragon. It was an important port city from which many Christians had been captured and enslaved by Muslim raiders over the centuries. 

In this posting, I will show the interior of the Templo de Merced de Mellado, but also recount the history of the Royal, Celestial, and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of Captives, commonly known as the Mercedarios. According to the legend, after San Pedro Nolasco's encounter with Our Lady of Mercy in 1218, he changed his secular organization into a religious order. In this posting, I'll trace the facts of what is known about these intrepid friars. 

The coat-of-arms of King James I of Aragon. In the painting at the top, Nolasco holds the banner of his Order containing the coat-of-arms of the King James I of Aragon, who had authorized its use by the Mercedarios. They wore a small version of it on their chests in the center of their robes. 

The emblem consists of a shield with the crown of Aragon on top. Below the crown is a field of red with the white cross of the Maltese Knights in its center. The lower half of the shield is covered with alternating vertical stripes of red and yellow, the symbol of Catalonia.

The Barbary Coast of North Africa was infested with pirates. In the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries they operated out of the many ports along the coast which had ready markets for Christian slaves and became known as the Barbary Coast. People were captured at sea or in raids on the European coastal cities, such as Barcelona on the northeast coast of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain). The Ottoman Empire, in the Eastern Mediterranean, also had a large market for such slaves. 

This had been going on for centuries, ever since the rapid expansion of the Islamic Caliphates across North Africa in the 7th century. In 711 AD, an Islamic army of North African Berbers called the Moors crossed the Mediterranean and invaded the Iberian Peninsula. They swiftly conquered the Christian Visigoth Kingdom and took over almost the entire Peninsula. However, small Christian kingdoms in the mountainous north of the Peninsula managed to survive.

The struggle of these Christian pockets to survive and expand against the Moors is called La Reconquista (The Re-Conquest). After 781 years, it was finally completed when the last Moorish enclave of Granada fell in 1492. During La Reconquista, a market for war captives as slaves soon developed. The wealthy captives were often ransomed fairly quickly, but the poor faced a lifetime of often brutal servitude, with little hope of freedom. 

White-robed Mercedarios, clutching pouches of money, negotiate for slaves. In the background, the Virgin of Mercy looks on. The two captives are kneeling at the left and one of them is draped with a chain to which his wrists are manacled. The other captive raises his arm to ward off a blow. The two Mercedarios are identified in the caption at the bottom of the woodcut as French. 

So, how did the Mercedarios actually use the ransom money they collected to rescue Christian slaves? Some of the transactions, like the one in the photo above, were fairly straight-forward.  Money was paid for live bodies at a carefully negotiated price. However, interacting with pirates, slave merchants, slave owners, and various levels of officialdom could be tricky and even dangerous, since all of them were Muslim and potentially hostile to Christian friars. 

Mercedarios were sent two at at time on missions they called "redemptions". Sometimes a pair of ransomers could manage to free as many as 200 or more captives at a time, depending upon the resources available. When ransoms were not sufficient or welcomed, the Mercedarios were sometimes able to free the slaves covertly, although this was extremely dangerous and, to the Muslims, amounted to outright theft. 

Nave of the Templo de la Merced de Mellado 

The Mercedario Templo's nave is in the form of a Latin cross. Above each of the four columns supporting the dome over the center of the the nave's cross are triangular paintings of a Mercedario in his white robes. At each end of the cross are capillas (chapels), one devoted to the Virgen de  Guadalupe, the other to San Gonzalo de Amarante. The overall style of the interior and its decorations is Neo-Classic.

 Some examples of the dangers Mercedarios faced include: 

"...in Saracen lands, opposition was everywhere for the first Mercedarios. They were slapped, stoned, beaten, wounded, and dragged through the streets." According to one study, between 1218 and 1490, sixty-eight Mercedarios were killed on ransom missions. An unknown, but probably large, number undoubtedly died during the 15-year period between Pedro Nolasco's first ransom work in 1203 and his alleged encounter with the Virgin of Mercy in 1218.  

San Serapion (1179-1240) was a Mercedario from Scotland who had served as a soldier in the army of Richard the Lion-Heart and later under Alfonso VIII during the Reconquista. During a redemption he volunteered to stay behind so that ransomed captives could be freed. However, while his own ransom was being raised "the Muslims grew impatient and crucified the saint."

San Pedro Nonatus (1204-1240) succeeded Pedro Nolasco as Chief Ransomer. On one mission "he remained as a hostage for several slaves when his money ran out." After he had converted several Muslims, the local governor had him tortured by padlocking his lips together and threatened him with death. Nolasco was finally able to ransom him after 8 months. 

Two Mercedarios, Fra. Teobaldo and Fra. Fernando were sent to Tunis in 1253 to ransom 129 captives. On the way, "one of them was the victim of rapacious locals who tried to trap him into marriage to a Moorish beauty. He endured trial, burning, and eventually death by stoning. His companion was luck to escape with just a beating."

Main altar statue of Nuestra Señora de la Merced. In this version of the Virgin Mary, she is usually shown as she appears above, wearing a white gown and a crown, with her head surrounded by a large golden halo. The Virgin of Mercy also usually holds the Baby Jesus, who also wears a crown.

Very little is known of the early life of Pedro Nolasco. He was born in 1189 but most of the stories about that period of his life were created between the 15th and 17th centuries, so they should be taken with a large grain of salt. Nolasco's first documented appearance was in 1226, as a collector of alms in the French Pyrenees city of Perpignan. The first evidence of his collecting money for ransoms occurred in 1230. A man named Maimó Gombal set aside 100 Papal States scudi to be given to Nolasco for that purpose. 

Some stories about Pedro Nolasco's youth claim he was a soldier who fought the Moors in skirmishes along the borders of Aragon. As such, he would have been aware of the fate of those who were captured. In other stories, he became a merchant-trader, dealing with the Moors during the periodic times of peace. Both versions may (or may not) be true. In either capacity, Nolasco would have come in contact with Christian slaves in the hands of Moors.

Nolasco's motives for rescuing the Christian slaves were complex. A Mercedario website states that "he was cut to the heart by their suffering", but also admits that "the real reason (he) mourned the captives was because of their loss of faith." The risk that a captive would convert to Islam was very real because it might result in better treatment, perhaps even freedom. In other words, a Christian slave's fate in the afterlife ranked higher to Nolasco than the captive's suffering at the moment. 

The Templo's organ sits on a platform to one side of the choir loft. While not as elaborate as some I have seen in various churches, the organ is fully functional and is still used in concerts that are very popular in Guanajuato. It was installed in the mid-1750s after the Templo was built and its use was popular even then. 

According to the legend, during the night in 1218 when Pedro Nolasco was told by the Virgin of Mercy to transform his secular organization into a religious order, she also appeared to two other important figures to give them a similar message. Aragon's King James I and the Dominican friar Raymond of Penyafort (Pedro Nolasco's confessor), both allegedly received visits and subsequently laid claim to some credit for the founding of the Order.

James did give diplomatic protection, economic support and promoted gifts to the Mercedarios. However, the tales about the Virgin's visit to him (or to Fra. Raymond) didn't appear until the reigns of the king's successors, James II and Peter IV. In fact, no documents connect James I to the Mercedarios until the late 1230s or early 1240s. The later kings apparently wanted the political benefit of associating themselves with a miracle allegedly experienced by their predecessor. 

One of the four triangular paintings atop columns supporting the dome. The white-robed figure is clearly a Mercedario, but his first name and the first letter of his last are missing. The name shown at the bottom only reads "...AAVEDRA", which is probably the Spanish name Saavedra. The inscription below the name is illegible, except for a date of 1771. The three other paintings contain similar portraits of the Mercedario friars Pedro de Amo, Geronimo Carmelo, and Pedro Pasquia. 

Nolasco had begun collecting ransom money in 1203, fifteen years prior to his famous encounter with the Virgin of Mercy. Over those years he had assembled a secular organization made up of devoted followers. Constant struggles to raise money and keep his organization together must have been extremely difficult. Nolasco apparently decided in 1230 to strengthen the organization and ensure its survival by re-creating it as a religious order. 

By 1236,  Nolasco had managed to gain the support of Pope  Gregory IX, who formally recognized the Mercedarios as a new religious Order under the monastic rules set by San Agustin (St. Augustine). Another advance for the Mercedarios was a recent series of Christian battlefield successes. This had opened up new land for the kingdoms of both Aragon and Valencia and some of these properties were donated to the Order, enabling its rapid expansion.

This may be one of the famous Michoacan corn paste statues. In the 16th century, native craftsmen in Michoacan began creating statues of Jesus on the cross. Made from corn pith beaten in to paste from stalks, they were startlingly realistic in their portrayal of the structure of the human body. In addition, the statues were so light of weight that they were easy to carry in religious processions. They became so popular that they were shipped to churches all over Nueva España. 

Upon the Order's formal creation, Pedro Nolasco became its Superior, the Commander-General, and its Ransomer. Even so, he was never ordained as a priest. After 40 years of ransoming slaves, Nolasco retired in 1243 and died in 1256. During his lifetime, his organization (secular and later religious) rescued over 2,700 captives. Over their total history, the Mercedarios freed over 70,000. It took 400 years but, in 1628, Pope Urban VIII finally canonized him as San Pedro Nolasco.

After Nolasco's retirement, he was succeeded Guillaume Le Bas. The new Commander-General rapidly launched the Order into the territories brought under Christian control during this stage of the Reconquista. However, it had the effect of creating internal organizational turmoil. The observance of the Rule of San Agustin weakened as the number of new convents increased. In 1271, Nolasco's 3rd successor,  Bernard de Saint-Romaine, codified the rules into the Constitution of 1272. 

The 1272 Constitution explicitly set forth a requirement for the Mercedarios espoused by Pedro Nolasco, but which had never previously been codified. The requirement is that, in order to avoid a Christian slave's loss of faith, a Mercedario must be willing to take the slave's place, or even die if necessary. 

This unidentified statue is probably John the Baptist. The man whom the New Testament says baptized Jesus is usually shown dressed in humble clothing and fully or partially bare-chested.

During the exuberant Renaissance era (14th-15th centuries) the observance of Church rules and customs such as poverty and chastity were weakened. This loose enforcement of rules and sometimes outright corruption spread through many of the religious orders and Church organizations.  Some convents within the Mercedarios were affected. 

When the Protestant Reformation began at the start of the 16th century, the Catholic Church responded with its Counter-Reformation. The Mercedarios followed suit by refocusing on the Augustinian rules that governed their Order. This was one of several great changes that occurred within the Mercedario Order at the turn of the 16th century.

Capilla de la Virgen de Guadalupe 

One of the two side chapels of the Templo is devoted to the Virgen de Guadalupe. Legend has it that this dark-skinned, Nahuatl-speaking version of the Virgin Mary was encountered in 1531 in the ruins of a former pagan temple outside Mexico City by Juan Diego, a recently-converted Aztec man. The story of her apparition helped to firmly establish Catholicism among the poor and native people of Mexico and she has become the nation's Patron Saint.   

Three other events that were historically significant (and verifiable) involved the Mercedarios at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th centuries. First, in 1492, King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabela of Castille united their kingdoms and conquered Granada, the last Islamic stronghold on the Iberian Peninsula. This ended any need for Mercedarios to ransom Christian slaves taken within the new Kingdom of Spain. The focus would now become North Africa.

Second, shortly after their victory, Ferdinand and Isabela famously dispatched Christopher Columbus on his 1492 voyage, during which he discovered the New World. Although Columbus had no religious figures with him on his first trip, Fra. Jorge de Sevilla  sailed with him on his second voyage in 1493, becoming the first Mercedario to reach the New World. However, the Mercedarios did not establish their first convent in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) until 1514. 

Third, in 1519 Hernán Cortéz set off for his Conquest of Mexico. His personal chaplain was the Mercedario Fra. Bartolomé de Olmedo. In 1527, after Cortéz' victories in Mexico and Central America, the Order established a Nicaraguan convent. Similarly, Fra. Vincent de Valverde accompanied Francisco Pizarro in 1531 on his conquest of Peru and the Order's convents in Lima in Cuzco were started between 1532-35. However, the Mercedarios didn't build a convent in Mexico until 1594 and didn't establish one in Guanajuato until 1752.

This completes Part 9 of my Guanajuato Revisited series. In my next posting we will look at the chapel devoted to San Gonzalo de Amarante, built in the late 17th century, and I will also talk about the history of the Mercedarios in Latin America and Mexico. I hope you have enjoyed this posting. If so, please leave any questions or thoughts in the Comments section below or email me directly.  Also, please remember to include your email address if you leave a question.

Hasta luego, Jim