Crossing Borders with the Santo Niño de Atocha (review)

Juan Javier Pescador's thoughtful history of the Santo Niño de Atocha—from its Iberian origins as a Marian devotion (La Virgen de Atocha) through its rise in Zacatecas, Mexico, and spread into northern New Mexico and else-where—is a welcome addition for scholars of Catholicism in Mexico and the United States. Geared to a learned audience, it utilizes a wide range of archival and other primary documents, and vividly chronicles the devotion's evolution across borders as a "different way of connecting with the sacred" (p. 170). The first three chapters examine the Spanish Our Lady of Atocha; the rise of the shrine to the Holy Child in Plateros (Fresnillo), Mexico; and the emergence of the "borderlands saint" between 1848 and 1880 reportedly venerated in 1859 by the New Mexican Severiano Medina in his village chapel. A final, lengthy chapter points to the importance of that legacy (as well as other Mexican popular devotions) in Mexico, South Texas, the Midwest, and Guatemala.

Dominican missionaries in Zacatecas embraced the devotion to the Holy Child, who is portrayed either as a boy pilgrim or baby prince, during the sixteenth century. In the eighteenth century the priest of the local parish ran the nearby chapel shrine. By the early-nineteenth century, Santo Niño, now fully detached from Our Lady of Atocha, had risen to prominence as protector of silver miners in Zacatecas. Subsequently, Mexican laborers brought him along in their migrations, and the devotion spread north over the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. Various sites emerged as far as northern New Mexico, where, in the late-nineteenth century, the image was placed at the Sanctuary of the Señor de Esquípulas in Chimayó. It sparked considerable fervor from near and far, and eventually overtook the previously dominant icon. In the 1930s, however, tensions arose between Mexican-American devotees and the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, which, as new custodian of the shrine, downplayed the reputation of the Santo Niño, causing the locals to center their veneration once again at the Medina Chapel (a former Penitente morada).

In analyzing more current developments, Pescador relies heavily on a collection of private letters sent to the Santo Niño in the Plateros sanctuary, most of which came from people of Mexican origin living in the United States, which was published by Father Juan Pereira in 2000. These expressions of thanks for miracles and prayers granted, he writes,"normally lack the reverential tone of Roman Catholicism's organized rituals" (p. 145), yet "reflect the voices of believers and how they approach a divine entity in their intimate, unique way within the framework of popular Roman Catholicism" (p. 146). Two entirely different devotional episodes—that of Chicago's Via Crucis (invoked as a "border-crossing ritual" asserting religious identity) and the 2002 unveiling of a huge statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe brought from Mexico City to Grand Rapids, Michigan—present further evidence of a common Mexican immigrant devotional experience. Here as elsewhere, photographs and other useful illustrations effectively complement the text.

These chapters offer historical continuity, but they are not always comprehensive or fully on point. For example, the author's sketchy coverage of the medieval Castilian Lady of Atocha skips over relevant religious dimensions of Reconquista conflict. Meanwhile, the sprawling accounts of twentieth-century popular devotions overstate the impact of the devotion itself, even if they illuminate similar yearnings for healing and protection, as well as expressions of gratitude. Nevertheless, the author's many interesting insights confirm the necessity of adopting both broad historical context and a wide geographic landscape for studying Catholicism among Mexicans and Mexican Americans.