Celestial Prince
St. Michael Archangel, God’s great warrior who cast Lucifer and his evil angels into Hell, is patron saint of the parish church in Maxcanú and his statue stands in the central niche of the main reredos.
In the opinion of Dr. Fernando Garcés Fierros, the wooden statue is 18th-century, and was sculpted in Yucatan.
The frank sense of movement emanating from the image gives it a special beauty, accentuated by his colorful Roman uniform. His right hand is raised and bent, brandishing a sword.
In his left hand he holds a pair of scales, as he is the archangel who will stand with Christ at the Last Judgement. His weight is on his left foot, while he strides forward with the right, his heel crushing the head of a black demonic figure as he walks, representing the defeat of Satan and his rebellion.
Despite its antiquity, this piece is not the original, since the statues an all the altars in this church were burnt to ashes in 1915 during the Mexican Revolution, according to the Catalogue of Religious Buildings in the State of Yucatan. The statue that exists today was given by an anonymous donor.
St. Michael Archangel is highly revered by the inhabitants of Maxcanú, who attribute numerous miracles to him. The cult probably began in the second half of the 17th century. Luis Millet Cámara, an archaeologist, reports that the priest Joseph González Aguirre had the images of St. Michael, Jesus of Nazareth and Our Lady of Solitude in the church retouched in 1776.
In the fourth side chapel of the church, counting from the main entrance, on the left, is an altarpiece popularly known as the Altar of St. Michael Archangel. The central niche, closed by protective glass so it resembles a casket, contains another wooden effigy of the Archangel, larger than the one at the high altar, and possibly manufactured at the end of the 19th century, according to Garcés Fierros.
This second statue is the one used to head processions and religious services during the patronal festivals, which are each year from the 13th to the 29th of September.
Maxcanú is 77 kilometers (48 miles) southwest of Merida. The etymology of the name gives several possible meanings: The Cordemex Maya Dictionary says it means “the beard of the guardian”, from me’ex, facial hair or beard, and kanul, guardian. On the other hand, the Dictionary of Toponyms gives “Kanul the Crusher”, from maxal, to crush, and kanul, a Mayan surname, perhaps the name of a warrior.
The coming of the Mexican Revolution to Yucatan is a major historical event linked to the cult of the Archangel, albeit not specifically to this jewel of sacred art.
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