Cristo Rey Church, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Additional Details:
| Cristo Rey is the Catholic Church's Memorial to the Coronado Cuarto Centennial, 1940. The largest adobe structure in the Southwest, one hundred eighty thousand (4x10x18 inch) adobe bricks were used in the construction, being made on the site by natives. All native lumber was used, the enormous vigas (ceiling timbers) each weighing 2500 lbs., were hewn in the Chama mountain region. The weight of the Church is 15 million lbs. Cristo Rey was built around the artistic Reredos (altar piece) which critics admit is the finest piece of stone sculpture in the U. S. from Spanish Colonial times. Size of Reredos is 18x32 ft. and 32 in. thick. Weight 450,000 lbs. Connected with the church is an ecclesiastical museum showing invaluable religious articles. An 80 page booklet, by the Rev. Daniel Krahe, explains in detail the building of the church and the Reredos. This book may be procured at the museum. |
