Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches

A study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico

By Claire and Richard Stracke
Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation

In Teposcolula:

Angel 1
Angel 2
Bishops group (two bishops, one monk)
Christ: Ecce Homo
Christ fallen with the cross
Christ in a coffin
Christ in a crown (with crowned infant Christ)
Christ seated in the pretorium ("Pensive Christ")
Crucifix 1 (Calvary group)
Crucifix 2
Crucifix 3
Crucifix case (with Mary, the Magdalene, one other saint)
Crucifixes (two, with two unidentified saints)
Crucifixion Group
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad) 1
Our Lady of Sorrows (Soledad) 2
Our Lady of the Rosary (with St. Dominic and a crucifix)
Palm Sunday Christ
Resurrected Christ
Sacred Heart of Jesus
St. Anthony of Padua
St. Isidore the Laborer
St. Mary Magdalene
St. Michael 1
St. Michael 2
St. Michael 3
St. Paul
St. Peter
St. Veronica
Saints Peter and Paul (?)
Unidentified Dominican
Unidentified female saint 1
Unidentified female (?) saint 2
Unidentified Franciscan
Unidentified monk 1
Unidentified monk 2
Unidentified monk 3
Unidentified monk 4
Unidentified priest 1
Unidentified priest 2
Unidentified saint 1
Unidentified saint 2
Unidentified saint 3
Unidentified saint 4
Unidentified saints (two in a cell)
Unidentified saints (three in a cell)
Virgin Mary

Other santos not photographed

Kneeling Saint

Kneeling saint:
Written in a vertical line from the right shoulder down to the right hem are the words CREO EN DIOS [TOD]O PODEROSO, the opening phrase of the Apostles' Creed. (The Nicene, the other familiar Creed familiar in Catholicism, begins "Creo en un solo Dios. . .") A nearby statue, also in apostolic garb and with a full head of hair, is emblazoned with the closing phrases of this same prayer.

It is possible the two statues represent some of the eponymous apostles of the Apostles Creed and that this santo, with its bald head and squarish beard, could represent St. Peter, the first of the apostles and the one most commonly identified with the virtue of Faith. However, this santo has no keys or triple cross, and two others nearby that also bear phrases from the Creed are almost certainly monks (see this one and that one).

Although the statue has been thickly and amateurishly repainted, the polychrome can be seen at the bent right knee and along the left hem of the cloak. The right knee and foot (one piece) are broken away from the main piece.

Other characteristics: Hands clasped in prayer, gazing up and to the left

Site: Former convento of San Pedro y San Pablo, Teposcolula.

Location: Along the west wall of the long room along the west wall of the former convento (see note).

Media and construction: Polychrome, hollow. Eyes: glass. Inside the mouth one can see a sculpted tongue and a ridge for the teeth, although no teeth are present.

Size: About 2½ feet (75 cm.)

Comparable santos in the former convento are emblazoned with phrases that form almost the entire Apostles' Creed:
Creo en dios todo poderoso: (The santo shown above)
Criador [sic] del Cielo y de la Tierra: Cell with two santos
[Creo in Jesucristo su] único [hijo Nuestro Señor]: Cell with a monk and two bishops
Que fué concevido por ovra del Espíritu Santo y nació de Santa Maria Virgen: Cell with a monk and two bishops
Padeció devajo del pod[er de] Pon[cio] Pilato, fué crucificado, muerto, y sepultado: Cell with two santos
Al tercer día resucitó de entre los muertos: (Not found, could be on the left figure in the Crucifixion Group)
Subió a los cielos y: (Not seen, may be on the collar preceding the next phrase)
Está sentado a la diestra de Dios padre todo poderoso: Cell with a monk and two bishops
Desde allí [ha de] venir [a] iuzgar [a] los vivos y a [l]os muertos: Crucifixion group
Creo en el Espíritu Santo la Santa Iglesia Catolica: Monk with book and church
La comunión de los santos: Unidentified priest
El perdón de los pecados: Monk with one arm
La Resurrección de la carne y la vida perduravle: Unidentified apostle

Comparable santos in Oaxaca (St. Peter): Coixtlahuaca, Etla, Huitzo, Mitla, Díaz Ordaz, Tamazulapan, Teitipac1, Teitipac2, Teotitl án1, Teotitl án2, Teposcolula1, Teposcolula2, Yanhuitl án.

External Links:
Wikipedia: The Apostles' Creed in Spanish and in English
Wikipedia: Saint Peter
Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of St. Peter in Mexico
Christian Iconography: Saint Peter the Apostle

Next: In the same room, a statue of an unidentified saint

Previous santo

Introduction to Teposcolula

Santos Home Page

Note: On this site, references to the cardinal directions always assume that the main altar is at the east end of the church, the narthex or entry area at the west end, and the two walls of the nave on the north and south. (The nave is the long central section.) In the case of the former convento at Teposcolula, directional references align with those of the Teposcolula church. Actual orientations may differ.

The photo shown here is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. You are free to share or remix it on two conditions: first, that you attribute it to the photographers, Claire and Richard Stracke, without implying any approval of your work on their part; second, that if you alter, transform, or build upon this photo, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.