Tuesday, August 6, 2024: You cannot be both an Apache and a Catholic. You have to choose. You cannot be both. ... You have to leave those ways and that way of life behind ... you have to choose - words from a homily delivered by then pastor of St. Joseph Apache Mission.
"Apache Christ" by Franciscan Friar Robert Lentz, an 8-foot icon depicting Jesus in the style of a Mescalero Apache holy man with the inscription in Apache "giver of life," and a painting of an Apache crown dancer by the late Apache artist Gervase Peso were taken June 26 from St. Joseph Apache Mission in Mescalero, New Mexico. Additionally several liturgical items reflecting Indigenous culture were missing.
The paintings' sudden removal June 26 came in the wake of what parishioners alleged was their (now former) pastor's open antagonism toward Apache expressions of their Catholic faith that involved removal of chalices done in their culture's Pueblo pottery style and offertory baskets. One parishioner, who asked to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, said that pastor Simeon-Aguinam said in a homily during a weekday Mass in Lent, "God comes first. You cannot be both an Apache and a Catholic. You have to choose. You cannot be both. ... You have to leave those ways and that way of life behind ... you have to choose."
The "Apache Christ" icon has been featured in St. Joseph Mission Church since 1990, following its completion by Franciscan Brother Robert Lentz.
Throughout his career as an icon artist, Brother Robert made the bold decision not to limit depictions of Jesus to the centuries-old “European face” characteristic of traditional icons. Instead he created moving images of Christ in the “now”—as an immigrant facing a barbed wire fence, for instance—and in the context of various cultures, such as his Apache Christ, which celebrates the customs and beliefs of the Mescalero Apaches of New Mexico. In the process of creating the icon, Br. Robert listened intently to the medicine men of the Mescalero Apaches, and climbed Sierra Blanca, their sacred mountain, to pray. Their time of listening to one another resulted in the eight-foot-tall icon Br. Robert created, which was blessed by both the medicine men and the former pastor during Mass in their church.
These are the words of Brother Robert concerning the Mescalero Apache Christ artwork…
“No people in North American history have suffered as much from stereotypes as have the Apaches. A proud, monotheistic people of the desert and mountains, their history are strikingly similar to those of the ancient Jews. They, too, were enslaved, to produce wealth for Spain and Mexico. Many of them were carried off by the United States army to the swamps of Florida and Alabama as prisoners of war. Their crime had been defending their land -- a land they considered holy -- from invaders who respected neither their culture nor their faith. They live today on reservations hidden away in what is left to them of their sacred mountains.
This icon celebrates the beauty of Apache culture -- specifically the culture of the Mescalero Apaches of New Mexico. Christ is depicted as a Mescalero holy man, greeting the sun of the fourth morning of the woman's puberty rites. These are the most sacred of the Apache ceremonies, celebrating the sanctity of the gift of producing new life. A sun symbol is painted on his left palm, and he holds a deer hoof rattle in his right hand. A basket at his feet holds an eagle feather, a grass brush, and bags of tobacco and cattail pollen -- items used in the rites. He stands atop 12,000-foot Sierra Blanca, the sacred mountain of the Mescaleros. Behind him flies an eagle, the guide who first led the Apaches to their "promised land!" The inscription at the bottom of the icon is Apache for "Giver of Life," one of their names for God. The letters in Christ's halo are the Greek version of that name. The Greek letters in the upper corners of the icon are abbreviations for "Jesus Christ."
(Apache style basket and cups used to celebrate Mass which were taken by the parish priest (who has since left the parish)
Christians find truth in what they call the Old Testament. They call the ancient Jews who fought slavery and defended their land, religious heroes and prophets. When the Apaches did the same thing during the last four centuries, however, Christians called them bloodthirsty savages and did their best to destroy them as a race. The Apaches have somehow survived four centuries of Christian genocide and continue to tell the stories of their heroes and prophets. Can modern Christians go beyond inherited stereotypes and find the sacred where they do not expect it? Apache prophets have much to say for those with ears to hear.”
“BTW, I gave it to the people, not to the diocese or even the Santa Barbara Province.”
- ARTIST: Br. Robert Lentz, OFM
(Apache style ornaments used to celebrate Mass which were taken by the parish priest (who has since left the parish)
On July 3, the tribal government announced "with profound joy" on its Facebook page that "the paintings take(n) from St. Joseph Apache Mission have been returned to the tribe and the paintings will be returned to their locations in the church."
Winderful Interview with Brother Robert Lentz about his process of working with the Apache people to design an Apache Christ that fits their culture and ideals. (PS -- It's beautiful)
Here's a link to the website of the St. Joseph Apache Mission. There are several recorded phone calls with officials of the Diocese who are defensive and evasive and infuriating. A parishioner contacts Deacon John Eric Munson, OFS (Chief Operating Officer) of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces to find out where the artwork has been taken. He hangs up on her. May we never treat people of faith like they do.
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