Our Unitarian Universalist congregation is comprised of worshippers of different faiths. These Nicho objects represent diverse faiths in New Mexico, as well as the shared UU value of Pluralism. Among these are Catholicism and Buddhism.
The former has been a large presence in New Mexico since colonial times. The latter is among a growing number of non-Christian faiths, including Buddhism.
Left to right: Statuette of Our Lady of Guadelupe, painting of El Santuario de Chimayo, sculpture of Buddha
Our Lady of Guadelupe
Our Lady of Guadelupe, dark haired and dark-skinned Virgin Mary, is the symbol of Mary’s love for indigenous people. She appeared to Juan Diego, a Chichimec peasant, in December 1531, speaking to him in his native Nahuatl. She appeared to him four times, each time asking him to ask the archbishop to build a church in her honor on the hill called Tepeyac, outside of Mexico City.
To prove to the bishop that she was indeed Mary, the mother of God, she told Juan Diego to gather flowers from Tepeyac and take them to the bishop. The flowers were wrapped in his cloak, or tilma, and when he unfurled his tilma to the bishop, out fell Castile roses, a kind that did not grow in Mexico.
His tilma carried the image of the young woman, proving to the bishop that the Blessed Virgin had indeed appeared to him.
Our Lady of Guadalupe is called the mother of the Americas and the blessed mother of indigenous peoples. Her feast day is celebrated on December 12; the day Juan Diego presented the flowers and the tilma to the archbishop of Mexico City.
Another widely held belief is that Our Lady of Guadelupe is imbued with the spirit of Tonantzin Tlalli Coatlicue, Our Mother Earth, to whom the indigenous people worshipped on the same Tepeyac hill before arrival of the Spaniards.
The two deities are celebrated and remembered as their histories are intertwined.
Left: Coatlicue Source: Wikipedia
El Santuario de Chimayo
El Santuario de Chimayo, an important Catholic pilgrimage site, known as the Lourdes of America, is located in Chimayo, New Mexico, high in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. It has been a place of worship for generations. People of faith have traveled to El Santuario to ask for healing for themselves and others. The church is one of the most beautiful examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in New Mexico.
Thousands of pilgrims walk to El Santuario from Santa Fe and other starting points during Holy Week. The Tewa Indians named Chimayo as “Tsi-Mayoh,” after one of four sacred hills above the valley, which lies directly behind El Santuario de Chimayo. The Pueblo Indians believed that they shared their land with supernatural beings.
Right: Courtesy of Artist: Lisa White
Budda and Buddhism, a rapidly growing practice
Buddhism is a rapidly growing practice in UU and in the western hemisphere.
This bronze depicts the head of Siddhartha Gautama, the historical Buddha, born an Indian prince more than 2200 years ago.
He left his elite, privileged life and his family in search of the true meanings of life (the Dharma).
He attained nirvana after years of hardship and suffering, and he gathered and taught the first communities (sanghas) of Buddhists.
Buddhists worldwide take refuge in the Buddha, as a comforting guide to our spirituality, mindfulness, wisdom, humility, kindness, and compassion.
Left: Courtesy of Amy Sun
