The St. Joseph Apache Mission Church is a historic Catholic parish church at 626 Mission Trail in Mescalero, New Mexico, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.[1] Its parishioners are mostly members of the Mescalero Apache tribe.[2]
Buildings and architecture
The church was built upon the stone floor of a prehistoric Jornada Mogollon-culture ruin, estimated to date from 200 to 1400.[3] It was designed in Late Gothic Revival style by Philadelphia architect William C. Stanton.[3] Priest Albert Braun oversaw construction beginning in the 1920s.[2]
The altar of the church features Apache Christ, an 8-foot painting, executed by Franciscan friar Robert Lentz in 1989, that depicts Christ as a Mescalero holy man greeting the sun atop Sierra Blanca; inscriptions around the painting are in both Apache and Greek.[2] In 2024, the Diocese of Las Cruces removed the icon, a smaller work showing Native dancers, and ceramic chalices and baskets donated by the local Pueblo community for use in serving the Eucharist. The removal touched off a debate within the Catholic Church regarding inculturation and the melding of Apache and Catholic traditions.[2] The diocese restored the works after their removal angered Apache parishioners; after the works were reinstalled, Bishop Peter Baldacchino met with the parish council.[2]
References
- 1."National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- 2.[2.2][2.3][2.4][2.5]Deepa Bharath, Apache Christ icon controversy sparks debate over Indigenous Catholic faith practices, Associated Press (July 27, 2024).
- 3.[3.2]Mary M. Serna; James W. Steely (March 2004). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: St. Joseph Apache Mission Church / St. Joseph Apache Mission; LA 20723". National Park Service. Retrieved February 4, 2019. With accompanying six photos from 2004