The cross is stainless steel, 208 feet tall.
Posted on 06/06/2011 3:20:42 PM PDT by ConservativeStatement
ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Archeologists have found what they believe is a 300-year-old stone church in the nation's oldest city.
For hundreds of years, people have wondered where the fabled church of La Leche once stood. In fact, they even built a church -- Mission of Nombre De Dios and La Leche -- in its honor. It turns out the replacement church was only yards away from the original one.
(Excerpt) Read more at news4jax.com ...
>>The archaeologists found the church of Nombre De Dios and La Leche.<<
The Name of God and Milk — interesting archeological find but I am missing some sort of cultural reference...?
Courtesy ping to our own archeologist and anthropologist...
Land of Milk and Honey comes to mind??
>>Land of Milk and Honey comes to mind??<<
Very interesting — it fits with the picture being portrayed by missionaries of the day...
/mark
Actually, the church was destroyed by the British in 1728. They also carried off the statue of Our Lady of La Leche, which disappeared forever.
The Spanish re-built (and added a new statue), and a few years later, the British invaded again. This time the Spanish dynamited all the houses and buildings (including the church) within about a mile of the Castillo de San Marcos so that the British would have nothing to hide behind and no way to attack the Castillo unseen.
There have been subsequent churches on the site, which was lost to the Church for a few years after Florida became part of the US. Then a local farmer who owned the land sold it back to the Church for $1.00 because in the 19th century, it was still possible to see the ruins of the old church above ground and he felt that the property should go back to church use.
The current small chapel dates to 1923, replacing one built only a few years before that which was destroyed by a hurricane. However, it wasn’t on the footprint of the original, and the location of that one had gotten lost over the centuries.
Dr. Kathy Deagan studied the records of an earlier director of the Mission Shrine of La Leche (as the property is now known) who felt that he had found the original church, although he was not an archaeologist and didn’t give a very clear or standardized description of his find. But she was convinced it was there, and after amassing all her information, she got to dig there and found it on the third test pit.
It was not only quite large, but described as “richly decorated,” and they have already found bits of what were probably interior murals.
Fascinating find! I live right down the block from it. They hope to get a grant to excavate the whole thing in time for the 450th anniversary of the city in 2015.
The original mission was named Mision Nombre de Dios, Name of God Mission. The full title of the Virgin to whom the shrine was dedicated was Nuestra Senora de la Leche y Buen Parto, Our Lady of Milk and Good Childbirth, and it was a devotion popular with pregnant women or the mothers of infants, who prayed that God would grant them a good childbirth and an abundant supply of milk.
It originated in Madrid was a very popular devotion in the 16th, 17th and even 18th centuries, particularly in the colonies, which were far away from medical care. People still come to the shrine to pray for help in conceiving or protection in childbirth. The La Leche League (the pro-breastfeeding organization) is named after Our Lady of La Leche and the shrine.
I've done some photography there, it's an interesting site.
The cross is stainless steel, 208 feet tall.
The photos are brilliant.
Very informative. Thank you.
Thank you-— fascinating! Nuestra Senora de la Leche y Buen Parto, ruega por nosotros.
Beautiful pics. I am surprised that such a tall cross is still standing up.
There must not be too many Muslims and atheists in St. Augustine who feel “offended” by this tall Christian symbol.
Florida ping please
I like Tolomato better.
Tolomato Cemetery is now open to the public on the 3rd Saturday of every month, from 11-3. Come and visit - many people have never been inside.
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