In the center of Santa Fe — that's Spanish for “Holy Faith” — amid fashionable boutiques, history museums, Native American jewelry counters and innumerable tourists, sits a great cathedral.

How great is it? So great that, in July, Pope Benedict XVI raised it to the status of minor basilica.

The locals weren't altogether surprised. The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, a towering sandstone structure, is arguably the most prominent, storied and beautiful man-made structure in the state.

The sandstone edifice's blend of French-Romanesque and Southwestern architecture is believed to be one-of-a-kind.

And so is its history. Four earlier churches on the same site preceded this one. Its construction began in 1869, led by Jean Baptiste Lamy, the first bishop of the Santa Fe diocese, which then included all of New Mexico, Arizona and Colorado.

The soaring house of God stands as a testament to the durability of the Catholic faith, which has been growing in this region since the arrival of the first Spanish Catholic settlers in 1610.

As a member of this parish, I am awed to be part of a congregation that spans more than 10 generations.

Threshold to Beauty

Bishop Lamy left the unmistakable imprint of his native France on his cathedral. Its sturdy bell towers, vaulted ceiling and stone construction are more common to Europe than the Americas.

The brilliant stained-glass windows were made in Clermont-Ferrand, France, and are unique to this church. The Four Evangelists and Jesus' apostles let in light along either side, with Sts. Francis and Clare to the right and left of the altar. A magnificent rose window radiates from above the front door.

I learned recently that building materials and money ran out before the intended pair of spires was completed; by the time the construction was possible, the squared-off outline of the cathedral had become familiar and beloved. The pair of steeples that rise to a flat finish just higher than the peak of the roof remain as testimony to the difficulties, physical and financial, that the 19th-century Catholics of Santa Fe faced. A sketch of the intended design shows steeples continuing upwards at least 80 feet above their present height.

If you've been to Rome, you'll recognize a familiar feel to St. Francis' heavy front doors. They have the same type of bronze, bas-relief panels that compose the doors of St. Peter's.

The much briefer story of the Catholic Church in the Southwest fits on the two doors that were installed in 1986. The first panel depicts a Franciscan priest in 1539 explaining the faith to the American Indians.

From behind the altar, a modern reredos (altar screen) complements the 19th-century decor. A 1717 statue of St. Francis is enshrined in the center niche. Surrounding St. Francis are 12 saints of the Americas, painted in the bright colors of the local retablo (Spanish paint-on-wood) style.

The greatest treasure of the cathedral basilica rests quietly above a side altar. This statue of Our Lady, named La Conquistadora, has been enshrined, with a brief exile, in Santa Fe since she first arrived from Spain in 1625. Following an Indian revolt in 1680, the church's sacristan rescued the statue as he and the other Spaniards fled to what is now El Paso, Texas. For 13 years they remained there, until Gov. Don Diego de Vargas decided that the faith must return to Santa Fe.

A cart in which La Conquistadora was carried had a place of honor in the traveling procession. As the travelers stopped just outside the city, de Vargas led them in prayers to Our Lady asking that they be permitted to return to their city in peace. He promised a great, annual fiesta in her honor if their prayer was answered. Indian messengers then came out to greet the Spaniards and allow their safe return into the city.

Our Lady had re-conquered the city without the battle for which de Vargas had been prepared. Underneath the Spanish title, her name in English reads, “Our Lady of Peace.”

Passing the Torch

Today this statue emerges from the cathedral twice yearly. In June, she is carried at the head of a public procession beginning a novena of Masses to Our Lady in remembrance of the prayers of 1693 that ended in the peaceful return of the Catholic faith to Santa Fe.

The entire city welcomes La Conquistadora in September as she leads the procession beginning the week-long fiesta, still celebrated in honor of de Vargas's promise. The side altar in which she is otherwise found is the remnant of a church that was first built in 1717. The oddly angled, lumpy, adobe walls testify to the age of this part of the structure. Overhead, the carved wooden beams of the original ceiling are trimmed with spiraled wooden molding, the shape of the Franciscan cincture, and often seen in their old churches.

As La Conquistadora approaches her 400th birthday, her modest place in the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis is the oldest Marian shrine in the United States.

Before I left the church one recent afternoon, I spent a few moments in prayer at the feet of this centuries-old image. The bright blue of her new dress struck a sharp contrast next to the worn wood of her face. Like the church around her, she is a blend of age and youth.

My prayer was one of thanksgiving and petition. I offered thanks for the missionaries who brought the faith to this desert so long ago — and I asked that the faith grow strong in the heart of my baby daughter, recently baptized in this cathedral.

Emily G. Ortega writes from Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Planning Your Visit

This year's fiesta, celebrating the cathedral-basilica's greatest treasure — an old, humble statue of Our Lady under the title La Conquistadora — runs Sept. 3-11.

For Mass schedules and other info, call (505) 982-5619 or visit archdiocesesantafe.org on the Internet.

Getting There

From Albuquerque, take I-25 south and exit at St. Francis Drive. Turn right on Paseo de Peralta, then left on East Alameda. Those attending Mass are granted free parking at the city lot on West Alameda.