One day during my stay at Tetilla Peak, I decided to head north to Santa Fe. Now, I hate paying for parking, but finding on-street parking with BART (the Big Ass Red Truck) didn’t seem to be an option. After circling around the tiny streets in the center of town for a bit, I was pleased to find that the Cathedral had a lot. I could park there all day for $10. Such a deal!
I was ready for lunch when I got there, and a place that I found on the internet sounded good.
As I scanned the menu, I noticed a mistake. Can you spot it?
I ordered the cheese enchiladas, which came with beans and pozole. When asked if I wanted red chili or green chili, I applied what I had learned about life in New Mexico and said, “Christmas!”
You can see the red sauce on the left side and the green on the right.
Thusly restored, I headed out to wander around and see what I could see. First stop was the Santa Fe Cathedral Park. The monument in the center was dedicated in 1998 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Spanish settlement.
I headed around to the front of the Cathedral. Since this is the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, I wasn’t surprised to find a statue of him in front.
Behind the bronze statue of St. Francis, you can see a polychrome statue of a woman.
She is Saint Kateri Tekakwitha. She was the first North American Indian to be beatified, which is the first step to being confirmed as a saint. She was canonized in October 2012. She lived from 1656 until 1680 and was known as Lily of the Mohawks.
The Altar piece has rows of saints. Since I knew that this was a Basilica, I went looking for the three telltale symbols that a church is a basilica.
The canopaeum – Check!
The tintinnabulum – Check!
The Pope’s symbol – the crossed keys – on the seal of the basilica – Check!
The Cathedral of Saint Francis of Assisi was officially elevated to a basilica by Pope Benedict XVI on October 4, 2005, when it was named the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi. I guess that’s why they seem to have included his name on their seal.
In a chapel to the left of the main altar is a statue known as La Conquistadora. In 1626, Fray Alonso Benavides brought the statue of Our Lady of the Rosary to Santa Fe. During the Pueblo Revolt in 1680, the statue was removed for safe keeping. When the Spanish settlers returned in 1693, they brought the statue back. They renamed her “La Conquistadora” in honor of what they believed was a peaceful acceptance of her by the natives.
In front of this chapel was a collection of marimbas. I would have loved to have heard them played during a mass!
The interior of the cathedral is very colorful. I could have sworn I was in the cathedral when I passed through in 1987, but I remember it as being dusty and drab. So, either they did a wonderful job of restoration or I am thinking of some other building. Maybe it was some other city. It was a long time ago.
Across the street from the cathedral is the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts.
These columns in front of the museum are the work by Yatka Starr Fields, who is Cherokee/Creek/Osage. I didn’t feel like visiting the museum during this visit, but I couldn’t help but admire the columns and the building.
I set out to stroll around the plaza. I headed for the Governor’s Palace.
There are vendors selling their wares all along the front of the building. It reminded me of the plaza in Antigua, Guatemala. What wonderful memories!
I noticed that the Governor’s Palace was having a free night, and free is my favorite price. I decided to come back later.
I strolled about, enjoying being in Santa Fe. I saw the sign for the Loretto Chapel and the Miraculous Staircase. I remembered reading about the staircase in Ripley’s Believe It or Not back when I was a kid and I decided to check it out.
The diocese of Santa Fe built the chapel for the Sisters of Loretto in the 1870s. The chapel was built without a way to get up to the choir loft. According to information at the chapel, that wasn’t unusual in New Mexico back then. The musicians would access the choir loft by climbing a ladder. The Sisters of Loretto, who wore habits, weren’t comfortable about climbing a ladder. When an itinerant carpenter came by and offered to build them a staircase, they accepted his offer.
This is a simulation of the staircase that the carpenter built. He built a staircase that makes two complete turns and he did it without using nails. No one knows how he did it as he insisted on complete privacy and he locked himself in the chapel for three months. He disappeared without accepting payment for his time or the materials. The Sisters say that St. Joseph built the staircase for them.
In 1887 – ten years after it was completed – they decided to add a handrail. They also added a brace, connecting it to the pillar closest to it.
The Sisters of Loretto closed their school in 1968. The diocese declined to accept the chapel and sold it to a private company that now operates it as a museum and wedding chapel.
This would be a lovely location for a wedding.
After my tour of the chapel, I walked around and did some window-shopping.
I hadn’t intended to buy anything, but the sign that encouraged me to ask about their “special financing options” – well, that sort of sealed the deal. Lovely to look at, but nothing would be going home with me!
I found a survey marker on the sidewalk. I do love to walk around and just look.
I passed this sign at one point. I meant to get back to see the historical marker, but I couldn’t find it. Next time, I guess.
The free museum night at the Governor’s Palace was beginning, and I had to get over there. I wandered around and enjoyed the displays. I have no photos to share. The light wasn’t good for taking pictures. It was so dim in some places, that I could barely read the descriptions!
I finished my tour and left to retrieve my truck. The vendors had left their spots in front of the Governor’s Palace. Their spots were marked on the pavement for them to return to set up the next day.
They had packed up their wares and gone home.
It was time for me to go home, too.