Cristo Rey Church () is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

on Canyon Road in Santa Fe,

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

. It is one of the most notable buildings designed by influential Santa Fe architect

John Gaw Meem John Gaw Meem IV (November 17, 1894 – August 4, 1983) was an American architect based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is best known for his instrumental role in the development and popularization of the Pueblo Revival Style and as a proponent of ar ...

and is claimed by some sources to be the largest adobe building in the United States. It is also notable for its historic

altar screen A Dossal (or dossel, dorsel, dosel), from French ''dos'' (''back''), is one of a number of terms for something rising from the back of a church altar. In modern usage, it primarily refers to cloth hangings but it can also denote a board, often ...

, the

Reredos of Our Lady of Light The Reredos of Our Lady of Light is a historic stone reredos carved in 1761 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. It was originally installed in the Chapel of Our Lady of Light on the Plaza and is presently housed in Cristo Rey Church, which was built for ...

, which is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. The reredos was carved in 1761 and originally hung in ''La Castrense'', a military chapel on the

Santa Fe Plaza The Santa Fe Plaza is a National Historic Landmark in downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico in the style of traditional Spanish-American colonial cities. The plaza, or city square is a gathering place for locals and also a tourist attraction. It is home ...

. It has been described as "one of the most extraordinary pieces of ecclesiastical art in the country". with The church was dedicated in 1940.

History

The church was commissioned by

Archbishop of Santa Fe The Archdiocese of Santa Fe ( la, Archidioecesis Sanctae Fidei in America Septentrionali, link=no, es, Arquidiócesis de Santa Fe, link=no) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the southwestern region of the United States in ...

Rudolph Gerken Rudolph Aloysius Gerken (March 7, 1887 – March 2, 1943) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe in New Mexico from 1933 until his death in 1943. He previously served as bishop ...

in 1939 and completed in 1940. The project served three purposes: to provide a new parish church on Santa Fe's east side, to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado's expedition to New Mexico, and to provide a permanent home for the

. The stone reredos was carved in 1761 and was originally installed in the Chapel of Our Lady of Light, also known as ''La Castrense'', on the

. More recently, it had been stored for decades under less than ideal circumstances in a rarely visited room of St. Francis Cathedral. The new church allowed it to be returned to full public display for the first time since 1859. The church was one of the most ambitious adobe buildings ever undertaken in New Mexico, requiring 150,000–200,000 individual adobes. Around 120 laborers worked onsite to manufacture and lay the adobes and cut logs and branches into

vigas This is a list of characters associated with the character The Punisher. Family Tree , - , style="text-align: left;", Notes: Frank Castle Jr. Francis "Frank" Castle Jr. is the son of The Punisher (Frank Castle) in Marvel Comics. Th ...

and latillas. A total of 222 large logs were required for the ceiling. The church was dedicated on June 27, 1940.

Architecture

Cristo Rey Church was designed by

in the

Pueblo Revival The Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from Santa Fe de Nuevo México's traditional Pueblo architecture, the Spanish missions, and Territor ...

style, drawing inspiration from New Mexico's historic

Spanish missions The Spanish missions in the Americas were Catholic missions established by the Spanish Empire during the 16th to 19th centuries in the period of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. These missions were scattered throughout the entirety of ...

. In particular, the design borrows elements from San Estevan Del Rey Mission Church at

Acoma Pueblo Acoma Pueblo (, kjq, Áakʼu) is a Native American pueblo approximately west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. Four communities make up the village of Acoma Pueblo: Sky City (Old Acoma), Acomita, Anzac, and McCartys. These co ...

and San José de Gracia Church in

Las Trampas Las Trampas or just Trampas (Spanish: "traps"), is a small unincorporated town in Taos County, New Mexico. Founded in 1751, its center retains the original early Spanish colonial defensive layout from that time, as well as the 18th-century San ...

. Like its antecedents, the church is built from adobe, though it is supported by a hidden steel frame rather than relying completely on traditional building techniques. The building is massive in scale, long, wide, and high, and the adobe walls are up to thick in places. Architecture critic Chris Wilson described the building as "the last, great adobe mission". The facade is asymmetrical, with two battered towers of different heights separated by a recessed balcony above the main entrance. Inside, the church follows a traditional

Latin cross A Latin cross or ''crux immissa'' is a type of cross in which the vertical beam sticks above the crossbeam, with the three upper arms either equally long or with the vertical topmost arm shorter than the two horizontal arms, and always with a mu ...

plan with an aisleless

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform ("cross-shaped") building wi ...

, and polygonal

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

. The ceiling is supported on massive, corbeled

in the traditional manner, and there is a clerestory above the altar to illuminate the

which is installed at the west end. The pews, confessionals, and doors are all wooden and were made by students at the Lourdes trade school in

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

References

{{reflist Roman Catholic churches in Santa Fe, New Mexico Roman Catholic churches completed in 1940 Pueblo Revival architecture in Santa Fe, New Mexico Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santa Fe 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

History

Architecture

See also

References