By Natalie Taylor
A few weeks ago I walked by the Capilla de Loreto, and noticed the gate was open. A man in T-shirt and jeans was behind the grates. I approached him and asked if I could speak to the priest. “I am the priest,” he said. I had not expected that, and when I told him about my research on the history of art in San Miguel, and asked to see the chapel, he willingly agreed. When I returned a week later, Father Juan Francisco welcomed me inside. I had brought along photographer Jack Paulus, and asked if it would be alright to take photos. He said yes.
We went through the doorway that leads to the Capilla de Loreto, where I had never set foot. He took us into the actual “santa casa”—the holy house, which is a replica of the house of Virgin Mary in Nazareth. According to Church tradition, the archangels “saved it from destruction” by transporting it to Loreto, Italy. Thus the name, Virgin of Loreto. The Capilla de Loreto has the same dimensions as the original house, and under the altar are the remains of Manuel Tomas de La Canal and his wife Maria. On the side, within niches, there are large, sculpted figures of each.
Inside the sacristy are many paintings on the walls. There is a collection of all the archangels, with Saint Michael the first and largest one on canvas. The rest are all on laminated copper. On the opposite wall there is a mural-sized painting with a signature and date: Andreas Lopez, 1795. Andreas Lopez was an accomplished novo-Hispanic painter who had studied with Miguel Cabrera, one of the most recognized painters of the colonial period. On a long console along the wall with the paintings of archangels, are many objects, including a painting of Virgin Mary that looks very Eastern Orthodox. Father Juan Francisco said it is the “virgen de adviento,”—Mary during her time of expectation of the birth of Jesus—the Advent, according to Christian theology. The other paintings throughout the sacristy depict all the famous conversions spoken of in the Bible.
I asked about the Oratorians, and was told the order was originally founded by St Felipe Neri of Italy (1515-1595). The local, “congregación del Oratorio de SMA” was founded by Luis Felipe Neri de Alfaro, who came from Mexico City in the 1700s. Aside from founding the church in Atotonilco, Felipe Neri de Alfaro started several traditions still practiced in SMA to this day. One of them is transporting the “Señor de la columna”—the Lord of the Column—every year. Father Juan Francisco said his canonization is “in the process,” and can sometimes take centuries.
The Loreto chapel was commissioned by Manuel Tomas de la Canal, and built in 1733. A hundred years later, in 1834, remodeling included the construction of a dome by the architect Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras. Father Juan Francisco showed us vestments, some of which are almost 300 years old, elaborately decorated and still used by the priests to this day. Beyond the sacristy there is another small room with an amazing tapestry covering the entire ceiling, resembling intricate mosaic work. At the very end of the room, there is a lovely triple-stained-glass panel, made by a young man from San Miguel. It was commissioned two years ago for the 400-year anniversary of the canonization of San Felipe Neri (the Italian saint). In the same room, he pointed to a trap door in the floor which he said leads to a basement, and lifted it to show us. “The old priests say it is part of the old San Miguel tunnels,” he explained, and supposedly connect to Instituto Allende. I told him about another trap door in the Parroquia, which a young deacon showed me, and said was part of the old tunnel system.
In the hallway (when facing the gate that leads to Oratorio), there was an oil painting high on the wall, and quite hard to see. With his tripod, Jack was able to zoom in and get a good view of the painting. Father Juan Francisco was pleased to view it through the lens, since he himself had never seen up close. We completed our visit with views of some of the ancient treasures, under lock and key, including a gold chalice.
In a future article I will speak about the other wonderful works found within the Chapel of Loreto.
Natalie Taylor: BA in English Lit and Journalism, Loyola University, Chicago, 1995. MFA in Creative Writing, Vermont College, Montpelier, VT, 1999. Published writer, editor, journalist. Spanish teacher in the US, English teacher in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Translator. www.natalietaylor.org Contact: tangonata@gmail.com
