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Parishioners of St. Joseph Mission, a church on tribal land in Mescalero, N.M., allege their pastor with the knowledge of the Diocese of Las Cruces, has removed this icon depicting Christ through Apache culture and removed other liturgical items reflecting their Native culture from the church. (OSV News illustration/YouTube)

Apache Christ icon, painting restored to New Mexico tribe and parishioners


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OSV News Filed Under: Arts & Culture, News, World News

An Indigenous image of Jesus Christ has now been returned to a New Mexico mission church, days after their sudden removal by the pastor and other individuals, according to tribe leaders and parishioners.

The Mescalero Apache Tribe announced on its Facebook page July 3 that “it is with profound joy that we announce that the paintings take(n) from St. Joseph’s Apache Mission have been returned to the tribe and the paintings will be returned to their locations in the church.”

The parish is located on the lands of the Mescalero Apache Tribe.

The tribe’s Facebook post included two photographs of “Apache Christ” by Franciscan Friar Robert Lentz, an eight-foot icon depicting Jesus as a Mescalero Apache holy man with the inscription in Apache “giver of life,” and a painting of an Apache crown dancer by the late Apache artist Gervase Peso.

In the photos, the images appeared to be in an office at an undisclosed location.

OSV News spoke by phone with several parishioners who were on site at St. Joseph July 3 and who confirmed that one of the parishioners had brought the artwork back from the tribal offices to the church.

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