Apache Christ icon controversy sparks debate over Indigenous Catholic faith practices

July 28, 2024 9:40 PM
By Associated Press



The Apache Christ painting hangs behind the altar of St. Joseph Apache Mission church in Mescalero, New Mexico, July 13, 2024. The painting was the forefront of an episode between the community and the local Diocese when it was removed by the church's then-priest.

MESCALERO, NEW MEXICO —
Anne Marie Brillante never imagined she would have to choose between being Apache and being Catholic.

To her, and many others in the Mescalero Apache tribe in New Mexico who are members of St. Joseph Apache Mission, their Indigenous culture had always been intertwined with faith. Both are sacred.

"Hearing we had to choose, that was a shock," said a tearful Brillante, a member of the mission's parish council.

The focus of this tense, unresolved episode is the 8-foot Apache Christ painting. For this close-knit community, it is a revered icon created by Franciscan friar Robert Lentz in 1989. It depicts Christ as a Mescalero medicine man and has hung behind the church's altar for 35 years under a crucifix as a reminder of the holy union of their culture and faith.

[...]