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Mary Davis, Corrales Historical Society
Did you know that there was once a lovely crochet panel in the window over the front entrance to the old San Ysidro Church? It portrayed an image of the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patron saint of Mexico. The origin story of this image tells of a poor farmer, Juan Diego, who had a vision of the Virgin surrounded by light on a bleak hilltop on central Mexico. Diego proved his vision to the local archbishop by bringing Castilian roses to him in the middle of winter that should not have been blooming in winter or in Mexico at all. They were wrapped in his cloak or tilma imprinted with an image of the Virgin. The farmer was later canonized and the hill on which the vision appeared became the site of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, visited by millions of pilgrims every year.
According to the memoir Neighbors of Corrales (1952) by local resident and historian Cora Headington, the panel was placed above the doors by sacristana (caretaker) Bruna Gutierrez Sandoval at an unknown date. Bruna told her this story about the history of the panel.
“For a long time, that window, it bothered me that it had no curtain, no lace. I kept looking for something for it but there is nothing that is just right…. One day there comes to Corrales a widow lady, a Mrs. Silva…. She made this lace, I think she crocheted it herself…[and began] to sell chances on it…. I know it is just what I want for that church window! So I take a chance on it and I said many prayers that I get it.†[She asks a small boy who entered the church to also say a prayer—she pays him a quarter—and he agrees.] “He is a good little boy and he says the prayers and that is how the lace come [to be] in the window!!â€
This 1960 photograph of children leaving the church after mass shows the crochet panel partially obscured by the shadow of the overhead light that once illuminated the entry. Only one person has been identified in the photo: the boy in front in the white shirt is Leonard Armijo, a son of José Leon Armijo and Mary Gallegos. Corrales Historical Society would like to know the names of some of the others shown.
Not long after this photograph was taken, the congregation moved in 1961 into their new church on Corrales Road, which is still serving its community. The old church was closed and stood empty for a while. Then in 1963, it was rented out to a local theater group that appropriately called itself the Adobe Theater. The group presented plays in the church during the summers until 1987.
The crochet panel was described in the 1949 book New Mexico Village Arts by Roland Dickey in his chapter on textiles and embroidery. Though the Corrales panel was noteworthy enough to appear in the book, its current location is unknown. The Society has been told that when the congregation moved into its new home, many of the furnishings in the venerable old church were sold. Some of those furnishings have found their way back into the Old Church, but not the crochet panel.
Learn more about the Old Church’s history and see some of its old furnishings on Heritage Day, Saturday, May 18, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. when the Corrales Historical Society Archives Committee is presenting “Celebrations and Ceremonies†in the Old Church featuring exhibits and many historic photographs. Committee members and CHS Docents will be available to answer questions about the storied history of “the Heart of Corrales.†On May 19 at 10:00 a.m., the congregation of the new San Ysidro Church will celebrate its San Ysidro Feast Day Mass in the Old Church followed by a procession led by matachine dancers back to the new church on Corrales Road and the continuing San Ysidro Fiesta celebrations.
Information provided by Corrales Historical Society (CHS) Archives Committee. Want to learn more? Visit www.CorralesHistory.org for all the interesting things the Historical Society has to offer. New members are always welcome!