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Miracle at Metepec (Maguey Hill)

San Diego de Metepec
This modest 18th century church, located 5 kms NW of the city of Tlaxcala, near Ocotelulco, marks the site of a 17th century miracle, the first to be authentically documented in post conquest Mexico.
Complementing the unique documentation, a remarkable altarpiece inside the church features a series of painted reliefs that illustrate the miracle, which involved the Franciscan saint San Diego de Alcalá and, significantly, a native artist and a local Indian woman.

The Church
The church was built in the 1740s and 1750s, either on the site of the miracle, or more likely replacing an earlier mission dedicated to St. Gregory and a former visita of the main Franciscan monastery of San Francisco de Tlaxcala. The west doorway and surmounting choir window are fashioned from the local brownstone. The archway of the baroque doorway is carved with vines and bears a tiny image of the Christ Child. A diminutive statue of San Diego de Alcalá, holding a basket and a foliated cross, stands in a niche above the ornamental choir window flanked by a pair of awkwardly carved, rampant lions and outlying heraldic escutcheons.

The Miracle
According to the contemporary document *, one day in 1611 a convalescent itinerant Indian painter lodged in the family house of a young Tlaxcalan woman named María Jacoba, who was paralysed in the legs and unable to walk.
During his recovery the painter was instructed in a dream by San Diego de Alcalá, the recently canonized Spanish Franciscan brother and healer, to whom the artist had prayed, to paint his image on the entry of the family chapel, which was duly done.
Then one day, when Maria was grinding corn inside the house, she heard the voice of the saint summoning her to rise and walk outside, which she did. The miracle caused a sensation and the church was re-dedicated to San Diego the healer.
In time the new church was built and the costly retablo created to celebrate the the miracle and accommodate the pilgrims who came in hopes of relieving their own ills.

 

The Main Retablo
Filling the apse and dated 1773, this extraordinarily rich, carved and gilded Churrigueresque style altarpiece is a masterpiece of late baroque design and workmanship.

Set in complex mixtlinear frames, four large lateral panels of polychrome reliefs with accompanying inscriptions relate the story of the miracle:

  • The first panel shows the saint ministering to the recumbent Indian painter lying in his bed. Also present is a foliated or vineclad cross, a traditional attribute of San Diego de Alcalá. At the time of the miracle, only 25 years after his canonization, San Diego enjoyed high visibility and popular devotion. The humble healer was promoted by the Franciscans to enhance their prestige, especially among the native peoples to whom they ministered.
  • In the second panel San Diego appears outside the room in which Maria is grinding corn in a metate. She is dressed in a huipil and a pile of tortillas lies beside her.
  • The third panel shows the saint raising Maria to her feet.
  • In the fourth panel the saint and Maria stand side by side with an orange tree growing between them. Part of the legend records that San Diego ordered that an orange tree growing outside the native compound be preserved in his honor and never chopped down, a detail that explains the presence of the tree in the reliefs.


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    Panel 1.

     

    Panel 2.

     

    Panel 3.

     

    Panel 4.

    Other art works at Metepec:

  • Additional retablo sculptures include an image of St. Gregory, the previous patron of the church, which probably dates from the 17th century, and a crowded Calvary tableau in the top tier.
  • Two other large painted retablos, also conceived in ornate, late 18th century "barococo" style, rest in the transepts: one depicting six episodes from Christ's Passion, and the other with a portrait of the titular saint showing scenes from his life.
  • In the north transept also hangs a most unusual painting, probably of earlier date, portraying St. Francis preaching to the assembled Tlaxcalans dressed in indigenous style. Both the saint and the Indians are shown illuminated by the Holy Spirit.
  • A cycle of paintings of the Passion by the late 18th century Tlaxcalan artist Juan Manuel de Yllanes (sp) is located in the sacristy.


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    < A polychrome stone pulpit in the church features carved figures in a popular style.