Sentinels of Faith
Like sentries or custodians for their communities, the façades of three monastery churches hold stone sculptures which are not only imbued with symbolism, but at the same time possess their own intrinsic beauty.
Above the choir window that opens in the front of the church in Maní – a façade that was probably built in the early 18th century when the church building was expanded – there is a niche holding a full-length statue of St. Michael Archangel, the patron saint of the parish. The Angel, dressed as a Roman centurion, stares solemnly ahead. In his right hand he holds a sword whose tip is buried in the ground, while in his left he holds up a circular object.
The inside of the church also houses an extraordinary stone carving: a crucifix clearly made by a single anonymous Mayan sculptor, probably in the second half of the 16th century. The lack of proportion in the body of the Crucified Christ, and the ethnic Mayan features carved into the statue make it a remarkable example of the transition from indigenous to Colonial art.
In the spandrels of the façade of the 17th-century church in Dzidzantún, there are stone sculptures of St. Peter, on the left of the observer, and St. Paul to the right.
Both carvings are of extraordinary quality, and the sculptor has captured the subtle movement their garments, giving the statues a smooth rhythm. In his book Churches of Yucatan, the historian Miguel A. Bretos writes that “the quality of sculpture in Dzidzantún is possibly the highest in Franciscan Yucatan” The decoration of the doorway is completed with various reliefs, also in stone, with cherubim and other figures both anthropomorphic and fantastic.
At one time there was a plan to destroy the façade. Bretos explains: “during the pre-constitutionalist era…(the second decade of the 20th century) the demolition of the façade was ordered, on the pretext that it threatened to collapse. Fortunately, the plan was not carried out, although severe damage was done to it.
The parish church of Mejorada, in Merida, has four full-size stone statues in its austere 17th-century Franciscan façade. There were originally six, five of which survive. Four are in their original positions, while one more was taken to the Yucatan Conciliar Seminary.
Various events reduced their number, and mutilated two of the survivors, yet despite these misadventures, and the environmental erosion they have suffered, the statues still radiate the characteristic beauty of Mayan artesanal stone-carving.
To the sides of the base of the triangular pediment at the top of the façade are St. Peter, on the left, and St. Paul on the right, while at the apex the façade is crowned by an image probably representing Christ as the Good Shepherd, which would originally have been holding a sheep. This statue is one of the damaged ones: both arms are bent inwards towards the chest, while the left hand stretches forward, as if holding an unknown object which has since disappeared.
The statue of St. Peter is in worse condition, since it is missing the head. St. Paul is still complete, as is St. Francis of Assisi, who stands in the niche located in the center of the smaller pediment that covers the main doorway. It shows the saint with his hands raised and palms forwards.
The statue placed in the gardens of the Yucatan Conciliar Seminary is of St. Anthony of Padua holding the Baby Jesus on his left arm, which is folded close to his chest. Besides its feeling of movement, this carving transmits a great sense of tenderness.
The damage to the sculptures on the façade of Mejorada church occurred in 1915, during the time of the Mexican Revolution, when the main altarpiece inside the church was destroyed, along with other losses.
The front of this monastery church has been modified over the years. For example, two Ionic columns were added to the main doorway, and remained there until the second half of the 20th century. The capitals were on a level with the bottom of the pediment. On top of the left-hand column was the statue of St. Anthony. The other column probably bore the statue of another saint, but to date no evidence has been found as to which one. Photographs taken in 1902 show the right-hand column without a sculpture.
In the 1960s the original appearance of the front of the parish church was restored, the columns were removed, and the statue of St. Anthony was taken to the Seminary.
All of the sculptures on the façade can be viewed at any time.