The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1916-01-29

sion. 1t is this church which can
claim to be the oldest in the United
States.
SiXty-five years later, when Onate
arrived from San Gabriel with the
remnant of his colony to settle in
Tignex, he found it occupied by many
descendants of Coronados expedition.
Onate took possession Of the north
side of the river and there founded a
new town which he called La Villa
Real de la Sante Fe de San Francisco
that is, the Royal City OF the Faith
of st. Francis. 1t became the capital
of the province in 1907 and has re-
manned SO ever since. Here parish
church was built in 1927 by Father
Benavidez. In 1880 he visited the
King of Spain and reported to him
that in New Mexico there were TWEEN
ty-five priests, ninety pueblos and thir-
ty thousands Christian Indians. The
Tiguex Church, which was called San
Miguel, was left for the use of tribe
of Indians known as the Tlaxcalans.
Tiguex and Santa Fe have since be-
come one. In 1880, when the general
uprising of the Indians took place,
San Miguel Church was partially de-
stroyed and all other churches and
converts in New Mexico were RACED
to the ground. But in 1894 Diego de
Vargas repaired the ancient edifice,
and in the same year it was made the
parish church. 1t continued to be
used for this purpose until the new
parish church was built in 1922. The
ancient document attesting these facts
can still be seen in the federal build
ing in Santa Fe. Adjoining the pres
ent Cathedral there are still portions
of the old parish church built in 1922.
On entering the church we notice
first the puncheon floor under the
choir loft, and the Spanish lettering
cut in the large beam, which, trans
lated, reads: "The Marquis de lie
Penuela admiral Don Jose Chacon
Medina Salazar Y Villasenor, Knight
of the Order of Santiago, Governor
and Captain. General of the Kingdom
erected, this edifice, the Royal Ensign
Dom Agustin Flores Vegara, his serv-
ant (his aid) A. d. 1710." To the
right we see the oldest bell in the
United States, cast in 1856 and
brought to Santa Fe in 1912 by the
Ortiz family, who had come to make
their home in the New World. 1t is
made of silver, copper and little gold
and weighs seven hundred and eighty
pounds. The rough walls of the
church show that the mud was laid on
by hand instead of with trowel.
Originally there were no seats in the
church; those who wished to sit, sat
on the floor or on their heels. 1t con-
tains many remarkable paintings, the
most notable among them being a
genuine "old master"-an Annuncia-
ton by Giovanni Cimabue, painted in
1887 Both the great artist and his
pupil, Giotto, were devoted friends of
the Franciscans, for whom they exc
cuted some of their most beautiful
fresco work.
Another interesting painting repre-
sents the great st. Teresa. Both the
painting and it's beautiful carved frame
are over three hundred years old. In
the old days of the mission these
paintings were often rolled up and
put aside, to be used only on certain
great festivals. One of them has been
pierced by two arrows, shot probably
by hostile Indians while the picture
was being carried in procession.
Standing in the gathering twilight
within the ancient walls of San Miguel,
ones thoughts naturally stray back
to the days when the Indians them
selves, under the direction of the
brown-robed Friars, raised their affairs
to the worship of the living God. And
as the Church in those days was the
moral guide and spiritual mother of
her new-found sons, so today she is
the moral guide and spiritual mother
of millions of the inhabitants of ONr
great Republic people of all races and
tongues and countries, blended in one
vast brotherhood of faith. In this She
has no parallel No other institution
in the land holds such a record. All
others are recent, local and variable.
The Catholic Church alone can claim
to rank as the oldest.