Santos in Oaxaca's Ancient Churches

A study of santos in 16th-century and other churches in Oaxaca, Mexico


By Claire and Richard Stracke
Funded by a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation.

In San Pedro y San Pablo Etla:

Angel
Christ at the pillar
Christ: Ecce Homo
Christ fallen under the cross
Christ in the pretorium
Crucifix
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
St. Anthony of Padua
St. Luke
St. Paul
St. Peter the Apostle
St. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)
Soledad group
Unidentified saint (1)
Unidentified saint (2)
Unidentified saint (3)
Virgin Mary

Other santos not photographed


St. Peter of Verona (Peter Martyr)

Santo name:
If this statue is wood it must have been thickly repainted. It may be plaster.

On a plaque behind the statue are these words:

"San Pedro Martir / Nació en Verona, Italia. Año de 1205 / Murió asasinado este ilustre predicador, gloria de los padres Dominicos el 29 de Abril de 1252 / La causa: Servir al pueblo. Como lo hizo nuestro Señor Jesucristo / Culpables: La secta heretica de los Cátaros y un asesino a sueldo."
Translation: Saint Peter Martyr / Born in Verona, Italy, the year 1205 / This famous preacher, glory of the Dominican fathers, was assassinated the 29th of April, 1252 / The cause: To serve the people as Our Lord Jesus Christ did. / The guilty parties: The heretical sect of Catharists and a paid assassin.

Local Name: San Pedro Mártir.

Basis for Identification: Axe in the head, palm branch in the right hand, book in the left.

Site: Church of San Pedro y San Pablo Etla.

Location: In the courtyard of the former convento.

Media and construction: Plaster or wood? Eyes: painted.

Size: About 5 feet (150 cm.)

Comparable santos in Oaxaca: Achiutla, Santa Ana del Valle, Coixtlahuaca, CuilapanHuitzo, Diaz Ordaz, Teitipac, Tlacolula, Yanhuitlán.

External Links:
Wikimedia Commons: Statues of St. Peter in Mexico
Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles
Wikipedia: Saint Peter
Christian Iconography: Saint Peter the Apostle

Next: Also in the courtyard, a statue of St. Luke

Previous santo

Introduction to San Pedro y San Pablo Etla

Santos Home Page

The photo shown here is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. You are free to share or remix it on two conditions: first, that you attribute it to the photographers, Claire and Richard Stracke, without implying any approval of your work on their part; second, that if you alter, transform, or build upon this photo, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this one.