El
Señor de Esquipulas
This crucifix is from the
Church of Santa Maria della Luce, Rome, which serves the Hispanic
population of that city.
Esquipulas is a town in Guatemala where the original Señor de
Esquipulas was carved in the 16th century -- with dark skin, it is
said, to reflect the native population. The crucifix is sometimes
called El Cristo Negro, the Black Christ.
El
Cristo de Chimayo, a New Mexican iconographic tradition, is sometimes also
called El Señor de Esquipulas.
The figure of St. Mary Magdalene in this particular instance of the
Esquipulas crucifix is remarkable for its 1950s-style adaptation of the
saint's clinging to the Cross.
More of Crosses and Crucifixes
More of St. Mary Magdalene
Photographed at the
site by Richard Stracke